Alex flew back to Seven Tower at a leisurely pace. He wasn't in a hurry at all.
At this moment, some information surfaced on his retina.
[Laser Eyes +1: 11/30]
[Super-Speed Movement: Proficiency 4/10]
[Steel Body: Proficiency 3/10]
[Superhuman Strength: Proficiency 4/10]
[Your 'Flight' proficiency is full.]
[Now upgraded to 'Flight +1'.]
[Flight +1: Flight altitude +50%, flight speed +25%, flight maneuverability +20%.]
'Mm, now that flight has levelled up, I wonder what changes the other talents will have after upgrading.'
'Oh right, I still haven't checked the 'Shop'.'
'Open the shop.'
A purchase list appeared on Alex's retina.
There was only a single lonely item on the list.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Tyrant Armor Enhanced Model]
[Description: An upgraded suit of powered armor developed from the materials of a secret organization's research. Uses Prometheus metal to increase armor hardness and adds an arc reactor to boost power output.]
[Armor Parameters: Height 4 meters, weight 11 tons, arc reactor, shoulder-mounted micro missile launchers, aviation six-barrel rotary cannon, incendiary bombs, grenade launcher, retractable alloy blades.]
[Price: Dim Proficiency Essence *30]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
'Heh! Can't afford it.'
'The thing itself is pretty good, though.'
'For an ordinary person, equipping this armor will instantly turn them into a minor superhuman.'
Alex shrugged. But for someone like him, for Homelander, it was a bit too chicken-rib.
Besides, he couldn't come up with 30 proficiency essences anyway.
He closed the shop.
Alex then looked at his inventory.
'Dim Proficiency Essence' could provide 2 proficiency.
He glanced at [Steel Body] in the status panel.
"Only those who can stand still can deal damage," He muttered, then began dumping one proficiency essence after another into this defensive talent.
[Steel Body proficiency +2]
[Steel Body proficiency +2]
After throwing in four in a row, this talent broke through its peak.
[Your 'Steel Body' proficiency is full.]
[Now upgraded to 'Steel Body +1'.]
[Steel Body +1: Body density +50%, physical impact resistance +30%, energy impact resistance +10%, physical damage reduction 5%]
[You have gained the derived talent 'Regeneration' while upgrading 'Steel Body'.]
[Regeneration: Wound healing speed +50%]
"Haha!"
Alex couldn't help laughing, "So when talents level up, there's also a chance to derive other talents? This one's definitely not a loss."
As a 'cautious type', Alex used up five essences to level up 'Regeneration' once.
[Regeneration +1: Wound healing speed +130%]
"Mm! This will do for now."
———
Arriving at the command hall, as soon as Alex entered, he saw two figures.
The Deep and Black Noir.
The Deep was wearing a green combat suit, quite handsome in appearance. When he saw Alex, he said, "Homelander, you killed A-Train?"
"Is that true?"
Alex sized up this man who loved sleeping with women, "Do you need me to let you examine A-Train's corpse?"
"No! No!"
Just like in the TV show, this Deep was also very afraid of Homelander.
His expression changed, he hurriedly put on a smile, "I believe you must have had your reasons for doing it."
"But wasn't it a bit too extreme?"
Alex walked behind The Deep and placed both hands on his shoulders.
He could clearly feel it, the Deep's muscles trembled slightly.
Alex gently pressed The Deep down into the chair, "This morning I told the reporters I was going to straighten out The Seven."
"I wasn't joking."
"Look at what we've been doing all this time. Making movies, making TV shows, taking ads, endorsing products. Don't you think we look like clowns?"
"Is this what superheroes are supposed to be like?"
The Deep was at a loss and looked toward Black Noir, who was clad head to toe in black armor.
Black Noir had no reaction at all.
The Deep could only laugh awkwardly, "You're right."
"You think so too, don't you?", Alex smiled faintly, "I have a plan."
"I want to turn The Seven into a true superhuman alliance."
"Every single one of us must have the ability to stand on our own."
"We will be brave, strong, just, kind, and full of love."
"We will be a solid sun against the darkness."
"So in this team, there can no longer be people like A-Train."
"What do you think?"
The Deep didn't dare say anything, only smiling along and nodding repeatedly.
"I'm glad you agree with me," Alex walked to his own seat and looked at The Deep, "Then next, I hope you—"
Alex turned his gaze to Black Noir, "—And you as well."
"All of us will work together to make this happen."
The Deep patted his chest, "We'll definitely make it happen."
Alex nodded, then asked, "Where's Translucent?"
The Deep spread his hands, indicating he didn't know.
Alex picked up his phone and called Ashley.
"Go tell Translucent to monitor our victim, Mr. Hughie. If a bearded man makes contact with Mr. Hughie, have him contact me immediately."
Ashley didn't dare ask why Homelander wanted this done and agreed right away.
After hanging up, Alex stood up. "Alright, let's leave it at that for today—"
At that moment.
A line of information surfaced on his retina.
[Warning: 31 minutes until a disaster event occurs.]
'A disaster event?'
'Another one?'
'Great. The trouble in this world rivals Marvel's.'
Alex clasped his hands behind his back and smiled at the two in front of him, "If you don't mind, shall we chat a bit more?"
He planned to take these two along to deal with the disaster event.
While earning proficiency essences, he'd also take the chance to see what these so-called 'heroes' were really capable of.
.
.
.
Half an hour passed quickly.
[Disaster event appears. Do you wish to handle this event?]
Of course Alex did.
[You have accepted this event.]
[Event Name: Rise of the Night Kingdom. Prologue]
[Description: A Boeing passenger plane hijacked by armed militants is spiraling out of control toward an airport, threatening to cause massive disaster. Yet behind this catastrophe lies the opening act of the rise of a vast empire.]
[Event Objective: Kill Edi Orr.]
[Event Start!]
When this line of information flashed past, outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the command hall, under the distant night sky, flames suddenly lit up, followed by faint rumbling sounds.
The windows buzzed and vibrated.
The Deep and Black Noir both stood up and looked toward the window.
"What's going on?", The Deep looked into the distance in confusion.
Just then, an alarm sounded in the command hall, and on a screen embedded in the wall, a figure appeared.
Short black hair, avant-garde styling
, bright brown eyes, well-defined features, dressed in a crisp white suit. This was Raven Nora, the head of PR at Seven Tower.
["Homelander, the Department of Homeland Security is requesting our assistance."]