Chapter 143: Turn Up the Heat
When Lu Chen and A-Train rushed back onto the battlefield, another crimson Heat Vision swept across from the distance.
Boom!
Half of a hilltop was sliced right through.
Molten rock flowed down along the incision, and the surrounding ground had already been plowed into a crisscross of trenches by the Heat Vision.
Lu Chen stopped abruptly, watching the golden-red beams continuously intersecting in the distance.
Homelander and Butcher had already fought their way several kilometers away.
He was in no rush to pursue them; his gaze fell not far away.
Stormfront lay beside some shattered rocks, her uniform tattered, her nose bridge collapsed, and her mouth full of blood. Her chest was still heaving, but she wouldn't be able to get up for a while.
"It seems I didn't arrive too late."
Lu Chen walked over.
Hearing the voice, Stormfront's blood-stained fingers twitched. She struggled to open her eyes, and after seeing Lu Chen's face clearly, the venom in her eyes almost overflowed.
"You..."
"Don't speak."
Lu Chen crouched beside her and pressed his right hand onto the top of her head.
Mind Control, activate.
Vast mental power followed the skin contact, pressing directly into Stormfront's brain.
"Stop resisting and obey all my commands."
The moment the command was issued, Stormfront's body stiffened violently.
The focus in her eyes rapidly dissipated.
Did it work?
Just as Lu Chen was preparing to continue implanting commands, an unusually intense resistance surged from the depths of her consciousness.
Blood. Flags. Countless fanatical shouts. Laboratories from a century ago, Dr. Vought, the Third Reich, and that set of insane theories carved into her bones—all of it flooded into the mental World Lu Chen was perceiving.
"You cannot control me!"
Stormfront's teeth were covered in blood; although her body couldn't move, her consciousness was still struggling desperately.
"I am the heir to the old World and the beginning of the new!"
"We are the superior race!"
Mind Control had already suppressed her actions, but it was unable to completely crush that obsession.
She had lived for nearly a century; those Nazi ideologies were no longer just ordinary memories, but the core supporting her entire self-consciousness.
A stinging pain gradually spread across Lu Chen's temples, and he decisively withdrew his ability.
Stormfront gasped violently, and blood poured out of her nasal cavity again.
"Damn it."
Lu Chen was actually impressed by this woman.
"Maybe you should've been the Führer instead."
This woman was more devout in her Nazi beliefs than Dr. Vought himself. If she were sent back to World War II, she might even complain that the little mustache wasn't extreme enough.
Stormfront lay on the ground panting, blood and dirt mixed on her face, yet upon hearing this, she still tried to lift her head to glare at him.
Lu Chen stepped on her back.
Bang!
The body that had just managed to prop itself up was smashed back into the scorched earth.
"Don't be impatient."
Lu Chen looked down at her.
"Once I'm done dealing with the others, I'll give you a big surprise."
A-Train stood to the side, saying nothing.
He had clearly seen Stormfront's resistance earlier, and he had also seen Lu Chen's struggle against her.
"Have you seen enough?"
Lu Chen turned to look at him.
A-Train immediately lowered his head.
"I wouldn't dare."
He couldn't defy the commands issued after being controlled, because Lu Chen hadn't completely erased his personality or turned him into a puppet; he had only issued commands that he couldn't disobey, and that he could never harbor any malice toward him or those around him.
Lu Chen didn't care about A-Train's slight fear and raised a hand to press the micro-communicator by his ear.
"Annie, Cate."
A few gunshots came through the communication channel first, followed by Starlight's slightly hurried voice.
"We're here."
"What's the situation with Mothers Milk?"
Above the forest several kilometers away.
Annie was hovering below the clouds, holding Cate, looking down at her feet.
Kimiko had just been kicked away by Black Noir, her body snapping a tree in half. Before Black Noir could pursue, she flipped up and grabbed Black Noir's waist again.
Mothers Milk seized the opportunity and punched Black Noir.
Bang!
Black Noir backhanded a blade through Kimiko's abdomen, pinning her to himself. Kimiko's mouth gushed blood, but her already-healed arms held on tighter and tighter, refusing to let go.
"They're still fighting."
Annie watched Kimiko drag Black Noir down again and again, her brows furrowing tighter and tighter.
"Kimiko is relying on the fact that she can't die to keep controlling Black Noir. Mothers Milk is handling the frontal attacks; they're working together very well."
"What about Black Noir?"
"He's being suppressed for now."
Cate added.
"The enhancement effect on that big black guy is even better than we thought. Black Noir's blade can cut his skin, but it can't reach the bone."
After saying that, she looked down again.
Hughie was hiding not far away, his rifle long out of ammo. He was still clutching the remaining green serum in his hand, but he still hadn't injected it.
This won't do.
The mission progress is stuck.
Lu Chen had reached the same conclusion.
Not enough pressure.
Mothers Milk has awakened his abilities, and Kimiko has freak-level self-healing. With the two of them teaming up to suppress Black Noir, Hughie naturally won't inject the temp v.
Since that's the case, let's add some fuel to the fire.
"You two come over here first."
Annie was stunned for a moment.
"What about Mothers Milk?"
"Don't worry about him for now."
Lu Chen looked at Stormfront on the ground.
"Take this Nazi bitch with you. She's just exhausted right now."
Cate's eyes lit up.
"You can't control her?"
"Not for the moment."
Lu Chen knew what the girl was thinking and warned her directly: "Do not attempt to control her."
The smile on Cate's face immediately fell a little.
"Why?"
"Her brain is full of Nazi garbage that has been alive for over a hundred years. If you don't want your head filled with the Third Reich and pure-blood theories for the next few days, then behave yourself."
Cate was silent for two seconds, then looked down at her hands.
"Fine."
She really did want to try.
But hearing that warning, she still pursed her lips.
Lu Chen understood her ability best.
Since he said not to touch her, it was truly dangerous.
Annie adjusted her direction, holding Cate as she flew toward Lu Chen's position.
Lu Chen cut the communication and turned to look at A-Train.
"It's your turn to work."
A-Train stood up straight.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Go help Black Noir."
A-Train was stunned.
"Increase the pressure on them, but don't go for the kill."
Lu Chen stared at him.
"Especially Hughie."
"Once he injects the serum, bring him to Cate immediately."
A-Train nodded.
"Go."
Bang!
A blue afterimage rushed into the forest and disappeared at the end of his line of sight.
Lu Chen watched the direction A-Train had left in, reviewing his plan once more.
Both Butcher and Mothers Milk had awakened.
Now only Hughie remained.
He could watch himself fall into danger, but he couldn't watch those around him fall one by one to protect him.
The more someone is like this, the more their potential power is worth anticipating when they are forced into a corner with no retreat.
A dozen seconds later, light descended from mid-air.
Annie landed in front of Lu Chen, holding Cate.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, Cate jumped out of her arms and casually smoothed out her wrinkled clothes.
"Your flying is terrible."
Annie glared at her.
"Next time, you fly yourself."
"But I can't."
"Then shut up."
Lu Chen raised a hand and pointed at Stormfront.
"Annie, take her with you."
"Me?"
Annie looked at the blood-covered Stormfront, her expression somewhat disgusted.
"Forget it."
Annie walked over, grabbed Stormfront's arm, and hauled her up from the ground.
Stormfront tried to struggle, but Butcher's punches had drained almost all the strength from her body. She could only stare fixedly at Lu Chen, squeezing out a garbled sentence in German.
Cate raised her foot and kicked her on the shin.
"Behave."
Lu Chen looked at the two blonde girls.
"You don't need to keep flying either. Find a place to hide and keep observing Mothers Milk. Once A-Train brings Hughie over, Cate, control him directly, then try to control Mothers Milk. Remember, safety is the top priority."
Annie frowned.
"And you?"
Two more Heat Vision beams lit up in the distance.
The golden and crimson beams collided, and the firelight from the explosion shot into the sky.
Lu Chen turned his head.
"I'm going to see if Butcher is still alive."
Chapter 144: Enemies Meet
Kimiko wrapped her arms around Black Noir's waist, and Mothers Milk's fists followed, slamming into his mask.
Bang!
Just as Black Noir raised his arm to throw Kimiko off, Mothers Milk's second punch slammed into his ribs.
The enhanced power traveled through the armor, sending him sliding several meters sideways.
Hughie watched this scene, and his face finally relaxed a little.
They could win.
There was a chance!
Kimiko wouldn't die, and Mothers Milk was terrifyingly strong now.
Even if that vial of medicine could only last twenty-four hours, and even if it would cost Mothers Milk his life after that, there was still time.
As long as they could make it back alive.
To let Marvin see his wife one more time, hold his daughter, and say "I'm sorry" in person.
Perhaps the side effects Lu Chen mentioned weren't that severe.
Perhaps Mothers Milk could pull through.
Perhaps—
Bang!
A blue afterimage crashed into the battlefield from the side.
Kimiko, who was just about to lunge at Black Noir again, didn't even have time to react before her body was sent flying dozens of meters sideways, snapping two trees in succession before rolling into a pile of rubble.
The smile on Hughie's face froze.
The afterimage stopped in front of him.
Black skin, a blue uniform, and that face he had seen countless times on television, the face that had reappeared in every one of his nightmares since.
A-Train.
Hughie's fingers began to tremble.
The image of Robin standing on the side of the street, smiling at him, flashed through his mind.
The next second, blood splattered all over his face.
Those severed arms that were still held in his hands.
And that sentence when A-Train turned back: "I couldn't stop."
So much time had passed, and he thought he had gotten used to it.
He could stand up to A-Train, he could work with Butcher to use Robin's Death as a bargaining chip, and he could even stomach working with this murderer.
But now, seeing this face, the fire in his chest that had never been extinguished flared up again.
"A-Train!"
Mothers Milk also realized something was wrong.
As he turned his head, Black Noir was already right in front of him, a black dagger thrusting out from beneath his armor.
He couldn't dodge it.
Mothers Milk raised his left arm to block his chest.
Pfft!
The blade pierced through the skin, stabbing into the forearm muscle, and didn't stop until it hit the bone.
"Damn it!"
Mothers Milk slammed his right fist out hard.
Black Noir let go of the handle, crossed his arms to block in front of him, and was knocked back more than ten meters.
Mothers Milk wanted to go help Kimiko, but Black Noir rushed back as soon as he landed, giving him no chance to break away.
On the other side, Kimiko stood up, wobbling.
Blue light flashed again.
Bang!
She had only taken one step before being sent flying by A-Train again.
Apply pressure.
Don't kill her.
That was Lu Chen's order.
Then just keep hitting this woman.
Anyway, her self-healing ability was strong enough; never mind being knocked flying a few times, she wouldn't die even if all her bones were broken.
As for Hughie...
A-Train looked at that face, and the sliver of guilt that welled up in his heart was replaced by annoyance.
All the trouble had started from the moment he ran over Robin.
"Why are you here?"
"A-Train, don't forget what we have! The match-fixing, the abuse of Compound V, Popclaw's Death, and Robin!"
Hughie took a step forward, almost roaring.
"Once this is exposed, you're finished! Vought won't protect you, The Seven won't want you anymore, and all your honors and status will vanish!"
A-Train's eyelid twitched.
These words really could sting him.
A-Train was silent for a few seconds, then finally squeezed out a sentence.
"God bless you."
Hughie was stunned.
That's it?
This bastard ran over Robin, caused the Death of Popclaw, and now came to help Black Noir kill them, and in the end, he just said "God bless you"?
"FUCK!"
Hughie raised the muzzle of his gun.
"FUCK! FUCK!"
He pulled the trigger, but only an empty click sounded.
The bullets had long run out.
A-Train watched him futilely pull the trigger, the corners of his mouth curling up.
Over there, Mothers Milk dodged Black Noir's blade, grabbed the opponent's wrist with a backhand, and drove his knee into his abdomen.
Black Noir struck the back of his neck with his other elbow, and both of them stumbled at the same time.
They couldn't drag this out any longer.
Kimiko was being suppressed by A-Train to the point where she couldn't even get close, and he was starting to struggle against Black Noir alone.
The power brought by the medicine was strong, but Black Noir wasn't weak either; the wounds on his body were increasing.
He had to let Hughie go.
"Hughie!"
Mothers Milk forced Black Noir back with a punch and turned to rush toward A-Train.
"Find a way to run!"
Hughie gripped the empty gun in his hand.
"But you guys..."
"You've already done everything you could!"
Mothers Milk, dragging his bleeding left arm, roared as he charged.
"Don't stay here and die! Go find Frenchie, run!"
Hughie gritted his teeth and turned to run.
He hated this feeling.
There was always someone standing in front, always someone telling him to go first.
Butcher was a madman, Mothers Milk had a family, and Kimiko couldn't even speak, yet in the end, he was always the one being protected.
But what could he do if he stayed?
At least if he found Frenchie, he could bring people back.
Yes.
This wasn't running away.
This was going to find reinforcements.
Hughie had just run more than ten meters when the leaves in front of him were suddenly swept away by an airflow.
A-Train was already standing there.
"Did I say you could leave?"
Hughie slammed on the brakes, turning to change direction.
A hand grabbed his throat.
His feet left the ground.
A sense of suffocation quickly surged up; Hughie grabbed A-Train's wrist, struggling desperately, his face quickly turning red.
A-Train held him up in front of his face.
"Today, none of you are leaving."
Hughie opened his mouth, only squeezing out a hoarse gasp.
"You... you..."
A-Train's fingers slowly tightened.
If it weren't for Hughie, Popclaw wouldn't have died.
If it weren't for Hughie, he wouldn't have broken his leg, wouldn't have been kicked out of The Seven, wouldn't have been threatened by those damn scandals, and definitely wouldn't have been dragged into this mess today.
He had only run over an ordinary woman.
So many ordinary people died at the hands of Superhumans every year, so why was Hughie clinging to him so relentlessly?
"Do you really think this is all my fault?"
A-Train stared at him.
"I was on a mission at the time! A mission given by Homelander! And I already apologized."
Hughie struggled even harder.
Apologized?
That press conference where he called Robin an "accident"?
Or that PR statement recited in front of the cameras?
This bastard didn't even remember what Robin looked like.
"Why can't you just accept your fate?" A-Train gritted his teeth. "Robin is already dead. If you had just stayed home and taken the settlement money, none of this would have happened."
Just as he was about to continue, a figure lunged from the side.
Kimiko's face was covered in blood, and her five fingers were twisted from being hit by A-Train, yet she still lunged toward Hughie.
A-Train let go and his figure vanished.
Kimiko grabbed at empty air.
Bang!
The blue afterimage hit her shoulder from behind.
She was sent tumbling out again.
But she didn't stop.
Knees supporting her on the ground, her newly healed shoulder tilted to one side.
Kimiko forced the bone back into place, staggered to stand in front of Hughie, and spread her arms.
Hughie knelt on the ground, coughing, tears choking him.
Looking at the small, thin back blocking his path, he suddenly didn't know what else he could say.
"Kimiko..."
Kimiko didn't look back, only waved her hand at him.
Go.
Telling him to go again.
Not far away, Mothers Milk and the approaching Black Noir collided again.
The short blade tore a bloody gash along Mothers Milk's side, but he gripped Black Noir's shoulder tightly, slamming fist after fist into Black Noir's face.
"Go!"
Mothers Milk roared until his throat was hoarse.
A-Train didn't stop him, just stood a few meters away, watching them mockingly.
"What's the matter?"
"Weren't you going to expose me? Come on."
Hughie reached into his pocket and touched that vial of green serum.
Mothers Milk was right.
He had already done everything he could.
But that was the limit for an ordinary person.
I'm sorry, Dad.
Hughie looked up, peering past Kimiko's shoulder at A-Train.
Robin.
Today, I will avenge you!
"Didn't you want to know what else I could do?"
Hughie pulled off the needle cap and jammed it hard into his own thigh.
Chapter 145: Butchers Everywhere
Hughie pushed the green liquid in the syringe into his body in one go.
A-Train watched the syringe empty rapidly and actually let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally done."
He never wanted to get involved in this mess again.
Robin, Hughie, Butcher, Homelander, Stormfront, and that monster who always looked so easy to talk to but could actually control him with a flick of his hand.
"Screw them all."
"Hughie!"
Kimiko had just turned around when a blue afterimage flashed before her eyes.
A-Train grabbed Hughie by the shoulder and rushed into the woods with him.
Bang!
Kimiko lunged at empty air. Just as she wanted to pursue, Black Noir rushed in from the side and kicked her in the abdomen. Mothers Milk was about to provide support, but the short blade in Black Noir's hand had already stabbed toward his throat again.
Hughie only felt that everything around him had become blurry.
It was too fast.
The wind pressure made it impossible for him to open his eyes, while under his skin, it felt like countless insects were burrowing in. The green liquid spread along his blood vessels, and every beat of his heart sent a burning sensation throughout his body.
His bones itched.
His muscles twitched.
Something was waking up inside his body.
Hughie wanted to raise his hand to grab A-Train, but as soon as his fingers moved, his entire arm uncontrollably swung backward.
"Let go..."
"Save your energy."
A-Train glanced down at him and increased his speed once more.
Tian Shu said that the drug would take some time to take effect. As long as he delivered Hughie to Cate Dunlap, the rest would have nothing to do with him.
Three seconds later.
"I've brought him."
Cate Dunlap was straddling Stormfront and only stopped her fists when she heard the voice.
"Blöde Kuh!"
Stormfront spat out a mouthful of blood, her eyes full of resentment.
She had regained a bit of strength, and just as purple electric arcs began to emerge from her fingers, Annie January's eyes lit up as she held down her shoulders.
Zzzzt!
The lightning that had just gathered was instantly drained away.
Stormfront's face went pale.
Annie January absorbed the electricity and backhanded a punch into her face.
Bang!
"Still dare to discharge electricity?"
After absorbing lightning several times in a row, the light energy in Annie January's body was so full it was about to overflow.
Not only had it replenished the consumption from flying earlier, but a faint white light was even emerging on the surface of her skin.
Cate Dunlap didn't have it as easy.
The Nazi ideology in Stormfront's brain was too stubborn, and Lu Chen forbade her from using Mind Control, so she could only vent her anger in the most ordinary way.
Stormfront would curse once.
She would punch twice.
Although she couldn't understand German, she knew with her toes that it wasn't anything good.
"Scheiße! Ihr seid alle minderwertige —"
Bang! Bang!
Cate Dunlap shook her fists.
It wasn't until Hughie was thrown to the side that she stopped paying attention to this crazy woman and immediately got up and rushed over.
The effects of the drug inside Hughie had completely erupted.
His skin was flushed, and his fingers clenched repeatedly. That power was rapidly transforming his body; just a little bit more, and he would know what he had obtained.
Cate Dunlap pressed her palm directly onto the back of Hughie's neck.
Mind Control activated.
"Sleep."
Hughie's body stiffened.
His eyes had only opened a slit, and before he could even see who was beside him, his consciousness was forcibly suppressed by that command.
His head tilted to the side.
He fell into a deep sleep.
A-Train watched this scene, his body finally relaxing.
The mission was successfully completed; he had done everything he was supposed to do.
"What now?"
A-Train looked at Cate Dunlap, then at the glowing-eyed Annie January.
"The mission is complete. Can I go now?"
Cate Dunlap didn't answer.
Whether to let him go or not was Lu Chen's decision.
She wouldn't make that call for him.
Stormfront took advantage of the few people talking to raise her arm again. Purple current had just shot out from her palm when Annie January had already turned and grabbed her wrist.
The current surged into her body along her arm.
The white light in Annie January's eyes became even more blinding.
"Why don't you ever learn?"
The fist descended.
Bang!
Stormfront's back of the head slammed into the dirt, blood surged from her nasal cavity again, and her fingers finally hung limply.
Annie January still wasn't reassured and added a few more punches to her abdomen. Only when Stormfront's cursing was reduced to mere gasps did she stand up.
There was too much energy stored in her body.
If she hadn't been suppressing it, she would have already flown away.
Annie January looked toward the battlefield in the distance, where the sounds of impact were still coming from.
"It's not over yet."
A-Train's expression changed.
He knew it wouldn't be that easy to get away.
Annie January pointed at Hughie and Stormfront on the ground.
"Hide them first, then go back."
"Go back for what?"
"We're going to find a chance to catch them all."
Annie January counted the targets still on the battlefield.
"Kimiko, Black Noir, Mothers Milk."
A-Train glanced at the unconscious Hughie.
When would this mess ever end?
Annie January looked at A-Train.
"You're the fastest, so you're responsible for separating them. We'll take them one by one. Lu Chen said we can't kill them."
A-Train's mouth twitched.
"I got it."
Using Tian Shu to pressure him again.
But he really didn't dare not to listen. Anyone could see that these two women had an unusual relationship with him; perhaps the hope of Lu Chen letting him go rested on these two.
A few kilometers away.
William Butcher was once again smashed into the ground by a punch from Homelander.
Boom!
His body bounced up half a meter and fell heavily again.
His right leg was snapped backward at the knee, his chest was caved in, and at least five or six ribs had already pierced his lungs.
The broken ribs pressed against his chest cavity, and every breath brought out a mouthful of blood.
He couldn't get up.
His self-healing was still tenaciously repairing his body, but the injuries were accumulating too fast, and the self-healing could no longer keep up with the destruction.
Homelander slowly landed on the edge of the pit.
His cape was only half left, the wound on his back scorched by Heat Vision had stopped bleeding, and there were several bruises on his face. William Butcher's combat skills were indeed far superior to his.
In the latter half of the fight, every time Homelander threw a punch, William Butcher could always find an opportunity to return a punch while taking the hit.
Unfortunately, skill could not bridge the gap in physical strength.
Homelander's fists could break William Butcher's bones.
William Butcher, using all his strength, could only leave bruises on his face.
"Keep going."
Homelander looked down at him.
"Weren't you very talkative just now?"
William Butcher supported himself on the ground and had just raised his upper body when Homelander's boot stepped on his chest.
Crack!
The broken ribs were squeezed inward again.
William Butcher spat out a mouthful of blood and swung his fist at Homelander's lower leg.
Bang.
The force was too small.
Homelander didn't even sway.
He could hear William Butcher's increasingly weak heartbeat and could clearly see the wounds slowly healing inside his body. But the recovery speed could no longer keep up with the deterioration of the injuries.
It was over.
This man who had entangled with him, the one he had personally recognized as his nemesis, was finally going to die.
Homelander should have been happy.
But looking at William Butcher's gradually unfocused eyes, he didn't feel the satisfaction he had expected in his heart.
William Butcher was indeed annoying. He was rude, despicable, full of foul language, and challenged his bottom line again and again.
But only this ordinary person had never feared him.
Today, he had also given William Butcher the fair deathmatch he wanted.
He didn't fly into the high altitude to attack from a distance, didn't rely on speed to escape, but stood here and fought him squarely.
He even shed blood in a fight for the first time.
Enough.
A duel of destiny must have an ending.
Homelander slowly crouched down.
"You did well, William."
William Butcher's eyelids twitched.
"You actually really hurt me."
Homelander touched the wound on his back, his tone rarely lacking mockery.
"You can feel honored for this."
"Now, any last words?"
William Butcher's mouth was full of blood, and his throat could no longer make a sound.
He couldn't even open his eyes.
But his right hand, hanging by his side, lifted bit by bit. His fingers curled with difficulty, with only the middle finger stubbornly sticking up.
Homelander stared at that middle finger and was silent for a few seconds.
He stood up, and a scarlet glow lit up in his eyes.
"Goodbye, William."
Heat gathered rapidly.
Buzz!
A rose-red Heat Vision suddenly swept down from the sky!
The beam sliced through the ground, leaving a molten red trench between Homelander and William Butcher.
Homelander looked up abruptly.
Lu Chen, with his hands behind his back, slowly descended from mid-air.
The rose-red glow in his eyes gradually faded.
"Stop it, Homelander."
Chapter 146
The red light in Homelander's eyes slowly faded.
"Why are you here?"
Lu Chen hovered in mid-air, his gaze sweeping over him before glancing at Butcher, who was left with only half a breath in the pit.
Homelander lowered his head to follow his gaze, the confusion on his face quickly vanishing.
He raised his head again, and an unpleasant guess popped into his mind.
"Are you with them?"
Lu Chen shook his head.
If he really were with them, he wouldn't have watched Butcher get beaten into such a miserable state; it was just that this guy couldn't die yet.
"Why don't you stop, Homelander."
Lu Chen pointed at Butcher on the ground.
"In a couple of days, I'll bring him back to you in one piece."
Homelander's expression darkened.
"Are you ordering me?"
"Consider it a discussion."
Homelander stood straight, his cape fluttering in the air current.
The smile on his face faded bit by bit, and red light surged in his eyes again.
"I just gave him a fair duel. He lost, so he should die. Now you come running over here and tell me to stop?"
Very well.
There was no talking this out.
Lu Chen hadn't expected to be able to persuade Homelander with a few words anyway.
The fact that this guy was willing to have a fair fight to the death with Butcher was already a rare display of following the rules.
Now that he was about to kill his nemesis with his own hands, and someone had interfered, no one would be happy about that.
Especially not Homelander.
In his dictionary, backing down had always been synonymous with weakness.
Lu Chen landed on the ground and lowered the hands he had been holding behind his back.
Homelander looked at Lu Chen, remembering the magenta Heat Vision that had just sliced through the ground.
Flight.
Heat Vision.
"Do you think that by stealing some power, you dare to challenge my authority?"
"Stealing?"
Lu Chen chuckled.
That wasn't entirely wrong.
It was just that what he had stolen was far more than Homelander knew.
"Actually, if you let me take him away, it would be better for everyone."
Lu Chen rolled his shoulders, and a magenta light gradually began to glow in his eyes.
"Whatever."
Homelander's Heat Vision had also charged to its limit.
He didn't like Lu Chen's tone right now.
There was no awe, nor the compliance he had been used to before.
"However, remember one thing."
Lu Chen stared directly into those crimson eyes.
Homelander's mouth twitched.
"What?"
"You are the challenger!"
Hum!
Two thick beams of magenta Heat Vision shot out instantly!
Almost at the same time, the crimson beams in Homelander's eyes slammed into them.
Boom!
The two high-temperature energy forces collided head-on in mid-air, expanding sharply at the point of intersection, and the blinding light dyed everything around them red and white.
The ground beneath their feet melted over a large area, and the edge of the pit where Butcher was located collapsed once again.
The momentum this time was even greater than when Homelander and Butcher were exchanging fire!
The two colors stalemated for less than a second before the magenta light began to push forward.
The anger on Homelander's face quickly turned into shock.
The crimson beams were being pushed back.
It was already absurd enough that Butcher could trade Heat Vision with him.
Now another Lu Chen had popped out and was actually overpowering him!
The crimson beams kept shortening.
Half a meter.
One meter.
The magenta light was getting closer and closer to Homelander's face.
"This is impossible!"
Homelander roared and increased his output, the skin around his eye sockets quickly turning red.
The beams paused for a moment.
The next second, they continued forward.
Feeling the endless heat pouring from his eyes, Lu Chen finally determined the strength difference between their Heat Vision.
After merging the abilities of the Super Baby and Ryan, his Heat Vision had already surpassed Homelander's.
Not by much, but it was indeed stronger.
Watching the magenta light closing in on his face, Homelander suddenly flew to the side.
Boom!
The unobstructed Heat Vision shot into the sky.
Lu Chen stopped the output.
Homelander had only just flown a dozen meters to the side when his figure vanished.
Super Speed, fully activated!
Bang!
The air wave caused by the sonic speed exploded with a roar.
Homelander's Super Senses had only just caught the movement sweeping in from the side when Lu Chen was already right in front of him.
Too fast!
Magenta light surged from Lu Chen's eyes once again.
This time, there was no distance.
Heat Vision directly to the face!
Sizzle—
The skin on Homelander's face quickly turned red, and the stinging pain from the burning drilled into his eye sockets.
"Ah!"
He roared and turned his head, shielding his face with his arms as his body retreated violently.
Lu Chen didn't pursue with continued blasts.
Heat Vision could suppress, but it couldn't penetrate Homelander's defense in a short time.
If he really focused on one spot for a few seconds, he might cause damage, but Homelander wouldn't just stand there stupidly and let him burn.
Crimson light shone through the gaps in Homelander's fingers.
Lu Chen immediately sidestepped.
Boom!
The Heat Vision grazed his shoulder and pierced through the rock layers behind him.
Homelander lowered his arms, a charred mark already appearing on his cheek.
His breathing was completely chaotic, his eyes locked tightly onto Lu Chen.
"You dare burn my face?"
"We're fighting, Homelander."
Lu Chen spread his hands.
"If I don't burn your face, should I burn your ass?"
"Shut up!"
Homelander activated all his Super Senses.
Heartbeat.
Air currents.
Muscle movement.
This time, he absolutely could not let the opponent get close using speed!
Boom!
Homelander accelerated with all his might, a heavy punch heading straight for Lu Chen's face.
Lu Chen crossed his arms to block in front of him.
Thermonuclear Manipulation, activated!
Orange-red flames instantly enveloped his entire body; the outer clothing turned to ash the moment it touched the high temperature, revealing the black combat suit worn underneath.
Blue electric currents had just emerged from the surface of his skin when they were immediately drawn away by Light Manipulation and converted into energy stored within his body.
Fortunately, the intensity of this electricity wasn't high; it only served to provide energy. Otherwise, even though his physique was much stronger than Translucent's, it wouldn't have been comfortable.
But this still wasn't enough.
Carbon Skin!
Partial Metallization!
Lu Chen's arms rapidly turned black, and a metallic luster appeared on the surface.
The next second, the fist arrived.
Bang!
Lu Chen slid back more than a dozen meters, the numbness from his arms spreading all the way to his shoulders.
The strength gap still existed.
His own physique and strength were both weaker than his.
Lu Chen shook his numb fist.
However, he could fight.
He could fight better than he had expected.
"Is that it?"
Homelander stopped in mid-air, the char on his face making his smile look somewhat twisted.
"You stole so many things, and you only have this much ability?"
"What's the rush?"
The flames on Lu Chen's body surged again.
"I've only just warmed up."
Both of them vanished at the same time.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several white air waves exploded in succession in mid-air.
Homelander, attacking while hovering at a low altitude, and Lu Chen, who had activated Super Speed on the ground, both broke Mach 3.
One was advancing at high speed while hovering less than half a meter from the ground, while the other was forcibly pursuing by stepping on the constantly shattering ground, achieving an eerie balance.
The battlefield gradually moved away from where Butcher was; to an outsider, it looked like just two flashing streaks of light, but to these two, the opponent's movements were perfectly clear.
Homelander threw a sweeping punch.
Lu Chen tilted his head to avoid the fist, kneeing toward Homelander's abdomen. Homelander raised his hand to block.
The two separated as soon as they touched, then simultaneously turned and traded punches.
Bang!
Homelander's body swayed, and he reached back to grab the shoulder of Lu Chen, who had been knocked back.
He grabbed empty air.
Lu Chen had already flashed behind him and punched him in the back of the neck.
"Get lost!"
Homelander turned and threw a punch.
Lu Chen raised his right hand to take it head-on.
Bang!
The fists collided again.
Lu Chen used the force to retreat, but his right palm was getting brighter and brighter.
The electricity that had been drawn away earlier, along with all the electricity that could be absorbed from the surroundings, had all been converted into high-intensity light energy.
The blue-white light was compressing crazily in his palm, making his arm under the combat suit look transparent.
Homelander stared at his right hand.
"What trick are you trying to pull now?"
"You'll know if you try."
Lu Chen swung his right palm and blasted it toward the empty space in front.
Homelander immediately sidestepped.
Did he miss?
This thought had barely emerged when a burst of telekinesis suddenly wrapped around his body!
"Come here!"
Homelander's body was forcefully dragged toward Lu Chen.
Homelander didn't resist; instead, he sneered, accelerated with all his might along with the force, and pulled his right fist to his waist.
At point-blank range, the incandescent white light in Lu Chen's palm erupted completely.
Boom!
The incandescent light beam swallowed Homelander head-on.
At the same instant, Homelander's fist also slammed heavily into Lu Chen's chest!
Chapter 147: The Strongest of the Modern Era VS The Strongest of the Future
Homelander's fist slammed into Lu Chen's chest.
Bang!
Lu Chen flew backward, his back shattering two boulders in succession, his feet dragging across the ground for dozens of meters before he finally stopped.
"Ugh!"
He spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.
Carbon Skin, Partial Metallization, a cloak of Fire, and the suit's Impact-dampening—these layers of protection blocked most of the force, but the remaining Impact still bruised his internal organs.
This was Homelander's strength.
In a direct head-on collision, he was still at a disadvantage.
However, it wasn't a big problem.
Super Healing had already begun to take effect, and his damaged internal organs were rapidly recovering.
As long as Homelander couldn't blow his head off with a single punch or destroy most of his body, this injury was nothing to worry about.
Lu Chen raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"That punch had some strength behind it."
On the other side, Homelander was not having a good time either.
The blazing White beam had blasted him dozens of meters away, and a sharp ringing still remained in his super hearing.
His cheeks stung from the high heat, and his vision was filled with large patches of White glare, making it impossible to even see where Lu Chen was standing.
Damn it!
"My eyes!"
Homelander covered his eyes and roared angrily.
"What the fuck did you do to me?"
"Never seen a flashbang before?"
Homelander lowered his palms, but his eyes were still unable to see normally.
Lu Chen had already charged over.
Super Speed was pushed to the limit, his fist flying straight toward Homelander's chin.
Can't fight if you can't see?
"You underestimate me!"
Homelander closed his eyes, his X-ray vision piercing directly through his own eyelids, flesh, and bones, and everything around him reappeared in his perception.
There was no color.
And it wasn't clear enough.
But it was enough to see Lu Chen's movements.
Homelander suddenly ascended rapidly.
Lu Chen's punch missed, but the force of the punch tore up a large amount of soil from the ground.
Homelander hovered a hundred meters in the air, looking down at him.
Lu Chen stood where he was, rose-red light gushing from his eyes.
Hum!
Heat Vision swept across mid-air.
Homelander dodged to the side, and the beam, having lost its target, sliced through a distant mountain.
"Is that all?"
He looked at Lu Chen standing on the ground, his mouth gradually curling upward.
As expected, this guy could use Flight.
But his Flight speed was clearly not as fast as his own.
During their previous high-speed clash, Lu Chen had always kept close to the ground. Even when he was knocked into mid-air, he would immediately drop back down.
So that was it.
"You don't actually know how to truly use Flight."
The scarlet light in Homelander's eyes flared up again.
Lu Chen didn't answer.
He had been found out.
In ground combat, he could rely on Super Speed to maneuver.
Once in the air, most of his advantages would be wiped out.
Homelander's smile grew wider and wider.
"Didn't you want to challenge me?"
"Come on!"
A scarlet Heat Vision beam shot out with a roar.
But the target wasn't Lu Chen.
Boom!
The beam swept across the ground beneath him, slicing the hillside directly in half. Large cracks spread rapidly, and the rock layer beneath his feet began to tilt and collapse.
Lu Chen's expression changed slightly.
This guy wanted to destroy the ground and force him into an aerial battle!
He had to leave this hillside.
Just as Lu Chen took a step, Homelander had already dived down from high altitude at extreme speed. With speed and gravity combined, his right fist descended with an Impact capable of collapsing a mountain.
He couldn't dodge it.
Lu Chen planted his feet, aiming his left hand at the sky.
Telekinesis, full power!
An invisible force wrapped around Homelander's limbs and torso, attempting to pin him in mid-air.
Homelander's speed dropped abruptly.
His supersonic dive was forcibly slowed, but the force was still pressing down. Lu Chen's left arm began to tremble, and the ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch.
Enough.
His speed had dropped!
Orange-red Fire surged along his right arm, and Lu Chen threw a punch.
The two fists collided head-on.
Boom!
The already battered hillside collapsed completely.
The rock layer fractured downward, soil and broken trees tumbling about. Lu Chen's legs sank into the rock layer, the skin on his right arm split open, and the blood that flowed out was immediately evaporated by the Fire.
Homelander was also knocked upward by the Impact.
Before Lu Chen could recover, he had already forcibly twisted his body and lunged down again.
"How many times can you block this?"
The second punch went straight for Lu Chen's face.
Lu Chen tilted his head to avoid it, but the fist grazed his cheek and struck his shoulder.
Homelander's knee followed up, slamming into his abdomen.
Bang!
Lu Chen's body left the ground, and he was knocked into mid-air.
Homelander pursued him.
This was the battlefield he wanted.
With no ground to leverage and no landing points to step on for acceleration, how much of Lu Chen's Super Speed would remain in mid-air?
But Lu Chen's counterattack had also arrived.
Thermonuclear Fire erupted from the soles of his feet and his back, and the light energy stored in his body was simultaneously pushed behind him.
Boom!
The orange-red and blazing White propulsive forces erupted together, and his body, which had been spinning out of control, instantly stabilized.
Lu Chen forcibly changed direction in mid-air, dodging Homelander's follow-up punch, and swept a Heat Vision beam back at him.
Homelander tilted his head to dodge the first beam, and immediately retaliated with his scarlet Heat Vision.
The two types of high-temperature energy collided repeatedly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fireballs exploded one after another in mid-air.
Lu Chen used the light energy and Fire propulsion to continuously increase the distance, while his hands were already clasped together in front of him.
Blue electrical currents surged from the surface of his skin, rapidly converging toward his palms. The electricity and light energy stored in his body were drained in one go, and the deep blue light began to turn White.
The second light cannon!
When Homelander saw the continuously expanding sphere of light, the charred skin on his face twitched.
This move again.
The first time it had caught him off guard, but other than temporarily blinding him and burning his cheeks, it hadn't really done much to him.
"Do you think the same move can hurt me again?"
Homelander charged straight at him.
"I will rip both of your hands off!"
"Is that so?"
The blazing White light in Lu Chen's hands was not released immediately; it was still being continuously compressed.
Homelander's eyelids twitched.
That wasn't the light cannon from before!
He immediately stopped his charge, wanting to pull away toward the high altitude.
Telekinesis wrapped around his body again.
"Come back!"
Homelander's speed was forcibly slowed, and the Fire on Lu Chen's back and the light beneath his feet erupted simultaneously as he actively flew to meet him.
A scarlet Heat Vision beam sprayed out from Homelander's eyes.
Lu Chen looked up.
The rose-red beam collided head-on!
Boom!
Homelander's Heat Vision was firmly blocked.
The distance between the two rapidly closed.
Fifty meters.
Thirty meters.
The blazing White ball of light in Lu Chen's palms began to change.
The previous shot had already proven that a simple light cannon wasn't enough. Homelander's Super Defense was too strong, and dispersed energy could, at most, burn him.
To truly tear through that layer of defense, he had to concentrate the energy into a single point.
Concentrate it even more.
Orange-red Fire surged along his arms into his palms, but instead of spraying outward, it was forcibly injected into the high-density light energy.
Light.
Fire.
Continuous compression.
The matter inside the blazing White light ball rapidly ionized, turning into high-temperature plasma.
A fist-sized "Sun" appeared in Lu Chen's palm.
Still not enough.
Magnetic Field Manipulation activated!
A strong magnetic field closed in from all sides, turning into an invisible cage that tightly wrapped around the plasma sphere. The light and heat, which should have exploded instantly, were pressed back inside, and the temperature continued to climb.
The sinister grin on Homelander's face disappeared completely.
His five senses were screaming warnings at him.
He couldn't touch that thing!
"What did you do?"
Lu Chen's suit began to melt from his wrists, and large patches of charred black appeared on his skin. Super Healing had just repaired the wounds, but the next second they were burned open again by the high heat leaking from within.
"Stop!"
The scarlet Heat Vision intensified frantically, attempting to suppress the rose-red beam.
Lu Chen gritted his teeth, slowly moving his arms forward.
"I said stop!"
Homelander forcibly broke free from part of the Telekinesis and began to retreat.
Want to run now?
Too late!
Impact activated!
The final burst of power blasted from his palms, pushing the burning, collapsing plasma sphere toward Homelander.
Lu Chen immediately crossed his arms in front of him.
"Taste this."
"This is what I prepared for you—"
"Stellar Collapse!"
The plasma sphere flew to within a dozen meters of Homelander.
Lu Chen suddenly splayed his fingers.
Magnetic Field cage, release!
Endless light and heat erupted with a roar!
Chapter 148: From Now On, Lu Chen
The moment the magnetic field cage was released, the fist-sized plasma ball expanded with a roar!
Homelander's vision was completely occupied by white light.
"Damn it! What is this thing!"
He raised his arms to protect his head, wanting to take Flight and escape, but Telekinesis was still tightly wrapped around his body.
It was too late.
Lu Chen only saw Homelander's mouth open, and the next second, the out-of-control light and heat swallowed them both.
Boom—!
The explosion was too bright to look at, and the surrounding sky actually darkened.
The extremely compressed high-temperature plasma surged outward; rock, soil, and trees were instantly vaporized upon contact with the white tide of light. Following that, the explosive shockwave swept across the ground for several kilometers, blowing away everything in its path.
"Get down!"
Several kilometers away, Mothers Milk pressed his entire body against the ground.
Black Noir had just grabbed Kimiko's shoulder when the shockwave slammed into them from the side.
Bang!
The three of them flew out simultaneously, crashing into and breaking several large trees.
A-Train didn't care about the mission anymore; he held the unconscious Hughie and instantly moved away from the direction of the explosion, unable to stop himself from cursing.
"Are you kidding me!"
Annie also grabbed Cate, her eyes glowing blindingly bright, as she dashed toward the rear.
"This isn't a Military bomb!"
Annie struggled to open her eyes, looking into the distance toward the explosion.
"It's Lu Chen!"
Cate hurriedly turned Annie's gaze back; even with her back to the light source, she could feel the blinding intensity of that glare.
"Then what about him?"
Annie didn't answer.
She wanted to know, too.
At the center of the explosion.
Lu Chen could no longer hear anything.
The instant the shockwave descended, the flames on his body were instantly dispersed, and his outermost layer of telekinetic protection shattered right after.
It exceeded the limit!
His black combat suit was torn open in large sections by the Impact, his chest and arms were almost completely carbonized, and only charred flesh remained on his right cheek.
The fire immunity granted by Thermonuclear Manipulation was still in effect.
But this wasn't ordinary fire.
After the magnetic field was released, that plasma ball, compressed to its limit, released all the energy it had stored at once; the temperature and Impact had long since exceeded the limit his ability could exempt.
Lu Chen didn't even have time to fly away before his body was blasted into the ground.
How many bones were broken?
He didn't know.
Most of his internal organs must have been ruined, too.
Super Healing LV5 activated spontaneously.
Beneath his charred chest, a broken heart contracted once more.
Thump!
Blood gushed out along severed vessels, only to be quickly blocked by regrowing flesh. Broken ribs pulled inward, fragments drilled back into place, and the holes burned through his lungs closed rapidly.
Thump!
A second heartbeat.
Lu Chen's fingers moved.
It started to itch beneath his skin. Every piece of flesh on his body was reorganizing.
It hurt.
It hurt like hell!
But the corners of Lu Chen's mouth curled upward.
Homelander was closer to the center of the explosion and took the brunt of the energy. If he was injured this badly, that guy would only be in worse shape.
And he was still alive.
He won the bet.
He lay at the bottom of the crystallized pit for a full half-minute before he could barely prop himself up with his right hand.
As soon as he applied force with his palm, his wrist bone dislocated again.
Crack!
Lu Chen looked down, pressed his palm against the ground, and forced the bone back into place.
"Homelander..."
Where was that guy?
Lu Chen raised his head, his vision still blurry; he could only rely on his super senses to search for nearby heartbeats.
Thump, thump, thump.
Very weak.
But still alive.
Several hundred meters away, a few pieces of crystallized rock suddenly rolled down.
A blood-soaked hand reached out from underneath.
Homelander pushed away the debris weighing him down, and just as his body was halfway up, he spat out a large mouthful of blood.
"Cough! Cough, cough..."
His uniform was burnt to rags, and his stars-and-stripes cape had completely vanished. His blond hair was curled and charred, large patches of skin on his face were scorched by the high temperature, and both eyes were bleeding continuously.
There wasn't a single patch of intact skin left on his entire body.
His sternum was collapsed, his left shoulder was twisted downward, and many internal organs had been scorched by the high heat. With every breath, blood foam poured from his nasal cavity and the corners of his mouth.
How is this possible?
Homelander looked at the hundreds-of-meters-wide crater, only this one thought remaining in his mind.
He had actually almost died.
No.
He was Homelander.
He couldn't die.
"Lu... Chen..."
Homelander tried to stand up, but as soon as he put force on his right leg, an intense, unbearable pain struck him.
Bang!
He fell back to his knees.
What he found even more unacceptable was that Lu Chen had actually already stood up.
Although his body was still swaying and his gait was limping, the layer of charred skin was constantly flaking off, revealing the newly regrown flesh beneath.
"You..."
Homelander blinked, and his eyeballs immediately felt a sharp, needle-like pain.
"Why didn't you die?"
Lu Chen stopped walking and looked down at his regrown palm.
He curled his fingers.
It could move.
Super Healing LV5 was even more brutal than he had imagined. As long as he wasn't killed instantly, injuries of this magnitude could only keep him down for a little while at most.
"You didn't die."
Lu Chen continued forward.
"Why should I die?"
Homelander watched him approach, feeling the urge to retreat for the first time.
The moment this thought emerged, he was stunned himself.
Retreat?
Why would he retreat?
He was the strongest Superhuman, Vought's most perfect product, a god standing above the entire World!
Lu Chen used to be just a sensible lackey.
Even if he had stolen a bunch of abilities like Butcher, he shouldn't be stronger than him!
"Don't come over!"
Homelander tried to make red light shine in his eyes.
Just as the heat began to gather, a tearing pain shot from deep within his eyes.
"Ah!"
He covered his eyes, and the crimson glow instantly extinguished.
Heat Vision did not shoot out.
The energy pathway seemed to have been burned out by the high heat earlier. No matter how Homelander tried, he couldn't condense a single beam of light in his eyes; only blood continued to stream down his cheeks.
It was gone.
At least, he couldn't use it for a short time.
Seeing this, Lu Chen felt confident.
The outcome of this battle was already decided.
"Why aren't you turning on the lights?"
Lu Chen took a step forward.
"Weren't you going to rip off my hands just a moment ago?"
Homelander lowered his hands; the blood on his face made it impossible to tell if it was coming from his eyes or his forehead.
"Shut up!"
"Aren't you the strongest?"
Lu Chen took another step forward, his right leg now capable of bending normally.
"Fly, John."
This name made Homelander's cheek twitch.
John.
John, the one locked up in the laboratory, observed by people through glass, who could only rely on completing tests to exchange for a few words of praise.
"I said shut up!"
Homelander immediately braced himself against the ground, forcing himself to fly.
But in his current state, he couldn't even maintain a stable Flight posture. He had only risen a few meters when his body tilted to the right, and his shoulder slammed heavily into the crystallized rock wall.
Looking at the approaching Lu Chen.
"Get away!"
Homelander instinctively threw a punch.
"Don't follow me!"
He gained altitude again, stumbling and zigzagging as he rushed out of the giant crater.
He couldn't stay.
If he didn't leave now, he would really die!
Homelander gritted his teeth and squeezed out every last bit of his remaining strength.
"This isn't over today!"
"Of course it isn't."
Lu Chen also couldn't fire his Heat Vision; he was also nearing his limit.
"Fly slowly, Homelander."
Lu Chen raised his hand and waved at the stumbling, flying-away Homelander.
"Don't crash and die."
Lu Chen walked to the center of the giant crater, crushing the layer of hot, steaming crystals beneath his feet.
Eighteen years.
From the orphanage to that dilapidated apartment in Queens.
When he had no abilities, he could only keep his head down and save money; after awakening his abilities, he could only cautiously interact with those weak Superhumans. After Copying enough abilities, he still didn't rush to expose himself; facing Vought, Edgar, and Homelander, he cooperated when he needed to and backed down when he had to.
Because he only had one life.
Before he was certain, arrogance was just seeking Death.
But today was different.
Watching Homelander's retreating back, he first chuckled, then could no longer suppress his voice.
"Haha..."
The laughter was a bit hoarse at first, but soon it grew louder and louder.
Forbearance.
Caution.
Calculation.
All the waiting had finally earned him this day.
"Hahahaha!"
In the crystallized giant crater, Lu Chen spread his arms and laughed loudly.
From this moment on, no one in this World could ever dictate his destiny again!
Chapter 149: You Came Just in Time
Lu Chen lay flat on his back at the bottom of the crater.
He just wanted to rest now.
Super Healing LV5 was still active; charred flesh kept falling off, and broken bones were gradually shifting back into place.
Every instance of growth was accompanied by an indescribable numbness and itch, yet his chest and arms still ached severely.
Let it ache, then.
At least he wouldn't die.
Lu Chen looked at the sky, not wanting to waste even the energy to lift his hand to block the harsh light.
As long as he could win, that was enough.
No matter how much Homelander refused to admit it, it was he who had fled just now.
Lu Chen closed his eyes, then quickly opened them again.
Forget it.
Who knew if Homelander would launch a sneak attack? It was safer to keep them open.
Several kilometers away, Annie January landed beside A-Train, holding Cate Dunlap.
"Lu Chen hasn't come back yet!"
As soon as Cate Dunlap stood steady, she stared at the direction of the explosion.
There was no movement over there anymore.
She couldn't see Lu Chen, nor could she see Homelander; there was only a ridiculously huge crater and a large expanse of dust and smoke that hadn't fully dissipated.
"He will be fine." Annie January said this, but her gaze did not shift. "He definitely made preparations."
"Are you sure?"
Cate Dunlap's speaking speed grew faster and faster.
"Why hasn't he come back? What about Homelander? Can you see him?"
"I can't."
"Then that means you aren't sure!"
Annie January opened her mouth, but did not refute.
She was anxious too.
But before Lu Chen left, he had instructed them to hide Hughie and Stormfront well, and then go to control Mothers Milk, Kimiko, and Black Noir.
The situation around them had not yet fully stabilized; rushing toward the center of the explosion, no one knew what they might encounter.
Especially Homelander.
If that guy was still there, her taking Cate Dunlap over would only be a burden.
"Wait one more minute."
Annie January forced herself to calm down.
"If he still hasn't returned, I will go find him."
"One minute?"
Cate Dunlap stared at her.
One minute was too long.
If Lu Chen were blown to pieces, one minute would be enough for him to die a dozen times over.
If Homelander were still alive, it would also be enough to burn his remaining fragments to ash.
She couldn't wait.
A-Train stood to the side, his expression equally grim.
He was still holding the unconscious Hughie.
The command Lu Chen left in his mind was still effective, but as long as Lu Chen did not issue a new command, he was not prepared to approach that hellhole.
What a joke?
Being blown away by the Impact from kilometers away—the center area probably wouldn't even have ashes left.
Annie January looked at him.
"You are the fastest; can you go over and take a look?"
"No."
A-Train refused quite bluntly.
"If Homelander is there, me going over is just courting Death."
Just as Annie January was preparing to persuade him further, Cate Dunlap had already circled behind A-Train.
A-Train heard the movement and just as he wanted to turn his head, a hand had already grabbed the back of his neck.
"Go to the explosion site and find Lu Chen."
A-Train stiffened all over.
Bloodshot veins rapidly spread in Cate Dunlap's eyes, and her Mind Control power poured into his consciousness without reservation.
"No matter what happened, no matter whether Homelander is still there or not, confirm Lu Chen's safety and bring him back."
The Mind Control previously left by Lu Chen began to resist.
"I... cannot..."
Cate Dunlap tightened her five fingers, her nails digging into his skin.
"You can!"
Veins bulged on A-Train's forehead, his lips trembled constantly, but his feet were nailed to the spot.
Two commands were tearing at his mind.
"Even if it costs your life, you must bring him back!"
Click!
An invisible shackle was forcibly broken.
The struggle in A-Train's eyes vanished instantly.
"I will bring him back."
As his voice fell, he placed Hughie on the ground, and his whole body turned into an afterimage and disappeared.
Annie January watched Cate Dunlap's reddened eyes and sighed, essentially fully accepting her.
But she also wanted to do something.
"I will go and bring back Stormfront."
Annie January turned and flew toward the location where they had previously hidden the people.
Cate Dunlap stared in the direction A-Train had left and took out her phone to search quickly.
On the other side, A-Train stopped at the edge of the crystalized crater that was hundreds of meters wide.
"My God..."
High temperatures still remained in the rock strata beneath his feet; large areas of soil and rock inside the crater had been burned into crystals.
Just by taking one look, he could imagine how terrifying the explosion just now had been.
Was this an attack that Superhumans could create?
A-Train swallowed his saliva and quickly found Lu Chen at the bottom of the crater.
That guy was covered in injuries, his suit was tattered, and a large patch of skin on his chest hadn't fully grown back, yet he was lying there with his eyes open, looking at the sky.
He was still alive.
A-Train first breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately after, another fact drilled into his brain.
Homelander was not here.
Lu Chen was still lying at the center of the explosion.
So, the one who fled was Homelander?
"What the hell."
A-Train rushed down along the crater wall.
Just as the sound of footsteps approached, Lu Chen turned his head to look at him.
Why was it this guy?
He clearly hadn't issued a rescue order.
Seeing A-Train head straight for him without a word, a rose-red glow reignited in the depths of Lu Chen's eyes.
Although his condition was very poor, if he really had to fight, after recovering a bit, he could still squeeze out a Heat Vision.
Sweat broke out on A-Train's forehead, but his footsteps did not stop.
"I am going to take you back."
Lu Chen stared into his eyes and quickly saw that something was wrong.
The rose-red glow in his eyes slowly extinguished.
To be able to make A-Train run in while facing a Death threat, and disregarding the Mind Control he had previously left, who else could it be but Cate Dunlap?
This girl was probably already frantic with worry.
"Take it easy."
Lu Chen lay flat again.
"My bones haven't knit together properly yet; if you dare to jolt one of them broken, I will dismantle your legs."
"You still have the energy to threaten people; it seems you won't die."
A-Train leaned over and picked him up.
"Shut up, and run steadily."
The next second, the two vanished from the bottom of the crater.
Cate Dunlap was gnashing her teeth while holding her phone when she saw A-Train appear in front of her.
The injuries on Lu Chen's body were even more severe than she had imagined.
His suit was shattered, charred traces remained on the side of his face, and the newly grown skin was still flushed red.
"You..."
"How are you?"
Lu Chen got down from A-Train's arms, his body swayed, but he still smiled and opened his arms.
"Did you miss me?"
The phone was thrown away by Cate Dunlap directly.
She threw herself into Lu Chen's arms, her arms tightly hugging his waist; when she touched an unhealed wound, she hurriedly lightened her grip.
"I thought... I thought you wouldn't come back!"
"Hiss, take it easy."
Lu Chen shouted that it hurt, but didn't push her away.
Cate Dunlap was indeed scared to Death this time.
With her personality, if she really had to confirm his Death, heaven knows what she would have done.
Wait.
Lu Chen's gaze crossed over her shoulder and saw the phone dropped on the ground.
The screen was still lit.
What it displayed was not the explosion site, nor a nearby hospital, but a route to the White House in Washington.
Something wasn't right.
"What were you planning to do at the White House?"
Cate Dunlap's body stiffened for a moment.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? Then why did you look up the route?"
"I was just looking around."
"Cate Dunlap."
Lu Chen stared at her.
Cate Dunlap pouted, and her face actually showed a bit of embarrassment.
"I was thinking, if even A-Train didn't come back, I would go find the President."
"And then?"
"Control him, release all the nuclear missiles, and blow Homelander to Death!"
Cold sweat broke out on Lu Chen's forehead.
Good grief.
This was no longer just about causing trouble at the White House.
If Cate Dunlap truly succeeded, the whole World would have to be buried with him.
"Your way of thinking is a bit dangerous."
"Isn't it because of you!"
Cate Dunlap's cheeks turned red, and she clenched her fist and lightly hammered his chest twice.
"Who told you to lie there without a word? I thought you were dead! If you were dead, why would I care about anyone else?"
"Alright, alright, my fault."
Lu Chen grabbed her hand.
These two punches were like scratching an itch, but they made him completely relax.
A dragging sound came from behind.
Annie January was dragging the unconscious Stormfront with one hand; after landing, she saw the two hugging each other.
The worry on her face vanished, and she immediately stopped in her tracks.
"It seems I came back at a bad time."
Cate Dunlap snorted and reluctantly left Lu Chen's embrace.
"I'll lend him to you for a little while."
Just as Annie January was about to speak, Lu Chen had already stepped forward, one hand hugging Cate Dunlap, and the other arm directly wrapping around Annie January's waist.
"Who said anything about lending him?"
Both blonde girls were pulled into his embrace at the same time.
Lu Chen looked down at the two faces, one on the left and one on the right, his smile becoming even brighter.
"My heart is very broad."
Chapter 150: Caught in One Net
Lu Chen held Cate with one arm and put the other around Annie. The newly healed flesh on his chest was squeezed by the two soft bodies, hurting so much that the corners of his mouth twitched.
"You can still laugh?"
Cate raised her head, her eyes still red.
"I'm almost dying, of course I have to hurry up and laugh." Lu Chen looked down at her, "Otherwise, what a waste?"
Annie didn't speak, just reached out to avoid his wound and gently supported his waist.
Being able to survive was already a miracle.
With that kind of explosion just now, even she, a few kilometers away, was almost blown away. Yet Lu Chen was lying right at the center of the explosion, his flesh burned away, and now he could still stand up and hug people.
What on earth did this guy treat himself as?
"Alright, stop making that expression like I'm about to die." Lu Chen raised his hand and rubbed Annie's head, "It's time to wrap things up."
Homelander had already escaped.
Didn't he come here precisely for these big gift packages?
"Cate." Lu Chen let go of Annie, stood steady leaning against them, "Have A-Train find Butcher and bring him back."
A-Train's body instantly tensed up.
"Go find Butcher and bring him back." Cate stared into his eyes, "Make it fast."
"I know."
A-Train turned and rushed out.
With his speed maxed out, a ring of dirt waves exploded from the ground.
"Annie, go scout from the air and confirm the others' positions."
"What about you?"
"I'll recover."
Lu Chen sat cross-legged, his injuries still rapidly repairing. Although Super Healing was strong enough, that stellar collapse just now had almost burned through his body,
but against Black Noir and Mothers Milk, it wasn't much of a problem.
"I'll be right back." Annie glanced at Cate, then her feet left the ground and she shot up into mid-air.
Cate didn't follow.
She squatted down beside Lu Chen and reached out to press his shoulders.
"Does it still hurt?"
"It hurts."
"Where?"
"All over."
Cate pursed her lips, her palm landing on his shoulders and neck, gently massaging.
"Here?"
"Mhm, harder."
She increased her strength a little bit.
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes comfortably.
"How about here?"
"That's fine too."
"Lu Chen."
"Hmm?"
"If you scare me like that again, I'll control Homelander and make him kill everyone in the World."
"Don't talk about destroying the World at every turn."
"Then I'll kill everyone at Vought."
"That's not very good either."
Cate was silent for two seconds, and the force in her hands increased a bit more.
"Then I'll only kill Edgar, who told him to create Homelander."
"That can actually be considered."
The sound of wind-breaking came from a distance.
A-Train, holding Butcher, stopped in front of the two, and as soon as he landed, he threw the person down.
"I've brought him back for you."
Butcher slammed onto the ground with a bang, his physical condition even worse than Lu Chen had imagined. His chest was covered in blood and filth, his clothes torn open by Heat Vision and the explosion, his eyes tightly closed, but he was still alive.
Annie's voice came from above.
"Lu Chen, the battle situation has changed!"
Lu Chen opened his eyes.
"Speak."
"After Hughie was taken away by A-Train, Mothers Milk and Kimiko have been besieging Black Noir. Black Noir is already heavily injured, but he's still holding on."
Lu Chen pushed himself up by his knees.
His body was still a bit weak, but several of his abilities had recovered to the point of basic release, and he wouldn't be like just now where even raising his hand took effort.
It was enough.
"Let's go."
Cate stood up and supported him.
"Are you sure you can fight right now?"
"It's just fighting Black Noir." Lu Chen flexed his wrists, "Besides, in this situation, we just gang up on him."
Annie descended, holding Lu Chen with one hand and wrapping her other arm around Cate.
"Hold on tight."
Light burst from her body, and the three of them rose into the air simultaneously.
On the ground, A-Train was following at full speed.
Lu Chen leaned in Annie's arms, his gaze sweeping across the distant battlefield, quickly assessing the situation.
"Descend."
Annie brought the two down to the ground.
Black Noir had just raised his head when Lu Chen already extended both hands.
Telekinesis erupted violently!
Black Noir's body was forcibly fixed in place. He tried to break free, his black armor making a harsh scraping sound, but his body was forcefully suppressed by an invisible force.
Lu Chen gave a forward yank.
Black Noir flew off the ground and crashed heavily in front of them.
Annie raised her hand, and light rapidly converged.
Bang! Bang!
Two energy impacts blasted out in succession, sending Black Noir's body rolling away.
Cate had already rushed to his side.
She whipped off Black Noir's mask and pressed five fingers against his forehead.
"Don't resist." Cate stared at him, "Sleep."
Black Noir's arms dropped down.
Lu Chen walked to his side, confirming that the other party had fainted, before releasing his Telekinesis.
Black Noir acquired.
On the other side, A-Train had already rushed towards Kimiko.
"Kimiko!"
Mothers Milk saw a residual image slamming over, and as he shouted out, A-Train had already slammed hard into Kimiko's body.
Boom!
Kimiko flew over a dozen meters, rolling into the ruins, and there was no movement for a short while.
Mothers Milk looked at the fallen Black Noir, then looked at Lu Chen, Cate, and Annie walking towards him, his expression changing completely.
Three Superhumans.
And an A-Train whose speed was too fast to see clearly.
Just now, he and Kimiko teamed up to suppress Black Noir. How could they fight this now?
Yet he couldn't retreat.
Kimiko was still lying there, and Hughie and Butcher's fates were unknown. Mothers Milk clenched his fists and rushed towards the three of them.
His speed wasn't fast, but every step made the ground vibrate. Super Strength and Super Physique turned his body into a humanoid siege hammer.
Lu Chen and Cate didn't move.
Annie had already flown up.
"Coming one by one?" Mothers Milk looked at Lu Chen and Cate in front of him, suddenly feeling a chance, "Do you guys think that because I'm injured, you can easily deal with me?"
Halfway through his charge, he suddenly noticed Lu Chen and Cate closing their eyes simultaneously.
Mothers Milk's steps slowed for a split second.
"What?"
Before he could figure it out, Annie in mid-air had lit up completely.
The accumulated electricity crazily gathered inside her body, and her blonde hair and eyes were covered by a strong light.
Annie pushed her hands downward.
Boom!
A huge wave of light smashed down from mid-air. Mothers Milk crossed his arms to block in front of his chest, but his body was still blasted off the ground and sent flying.
His ears couldn't hear any sound, his vision was left with only swaying black spots, he lost his balance underfoot, and he staggered backward.
Right now.
Lu Chen opened his eyes, and his body instantly disappeared.
Mothers Milk was still swaying when Lu Chen already appeared behind him. A standard rear-naked choke formed, locking his neck.
Partial Metallization!
The skin on both arms quickly turned dark silver, and all his strength pressed into the crook of his arms.
Mothers Milk grabbed Lu Chen's arms with both hands, trying to pull him away, but once a rear-naked choke was formed, it wasn't something that could be broken free from just by having great strength. It would directly compress the carotid artery, cut off blood supply to the brain, and cause the body to weaken so it couldn't exert force.
A few seconds later, Mothers Milk's struggle grew weaker and weaker, his knees went soft, and his whole body fell backward.
Lu Chen let go, stood up, and casually checked his status panel.
[Super Physique LV5.]
[Super Strength LV4.]
[Super Defense LV4.]
Indeed a Level 5 physique.
Lu Chen glanced at the unconscious Mothers Milk.
A physique of this level definitely had a certain resistance to Mind Control. It was safer to knock him out first.
Annie landed on the ground, her face somewhat pale. That strike just now had drained most of the stored electricity in her.
"Where is Kimiko?"
"Not dead yet." A-Train stood in the distance and said, "She just can't get up for a moment."
Lu Chen didn't go over to check. The most important thing now was to take everyone away.
He inspected the battlefield, using Telekinesis to grab Black Noir, Mothers Milk, and on the other side, Hughie, Stormfront, and Butcher.
The five people hung suspended in mid-air, as if tied by invisible ropes.
Several big gift packages, all acquired.
"Let's go."
Lu Chen looked at Annie and Cate, no longer paying attention to A-Train.
"Hold tight."
Annie reached out and put her arms around Cate.
Lu Chen hovered in mid-air, his Telekinesis supporting the five captives, flying toward Detroit.
More chapters available on mtl-novel.com up to chapter 323