Chapter 25: Plundering Research Nightscape

To defend against various superhumans from Vought, Wang Zhaofeng and his team developed numerous products for Atlas. For instance, there's Translucent, who, though set to become part of the Seven in the future, is currently used by Vought to spy on officials' private lives. He can make his skin become a carbon supermaterial that bends light, achieving optical camouflage and invisibility, with skin hardness comparable to diamond.

However, Translucent cannot completely disappear. He can only infiltrate areas with standard security and surveillance, not posing a threat to well-prepared facilities. On the other hand, the ability to shrink down to the size of an ant and enter someone's ear, as seen in the first episode of "The Boys" season three, is one of the best abilities for stealth, reconnaissance, or assassination.

Atlas has installed motion sensors on every floor of their domestic factories and overseas bases, which can detect even the slightest movement, like a cockroach crawling. Additionally, Wang Zhaofeng's team input feedback data from nearly ten thousand insects and other animals into the monitoring system's filtering program to avoid overloading the system.

In other words, unless Vought's superhumans can perfectly disguise themselves as insects or animals—matching weight, appearance, and behavior—they stand little chance of infiltrating important facilities. And this is just one part of Atlas's surveillance system.

Moreover, Vought's over-reliance on so-called superpowers, coupled with their neglect of proper training, has left most superhumans unable to effectively use their abilities, rendering them akin to oversized babies. Soldier Boy, sold out by Vought and handed over to the Soviet Union for research, possesses significant combat, firearms, and counter-reconnaissance skills. His only weakness is susceptibility to a nerve agent called Novichok.

Vought seemed aware of their superhumans' lack of military skills, which is why, before the 1990s, they only pressured federal officials or ordinary businesses, avoiding confrontation with military contractors, as the USA is a military-industrial complex nation.

Yet, Vought's recent actions, forcing many cities in the American Midwest and West to sign the "Superhero Security Act" in the past two years, are a cause for concern for Seattle Mayor Halden Bruce, who sought a meeting with Samuel Young to discuss this issue.

Vought's daring move to directly test Atlas's limits in Seattle suggests that the impending maturity of Homelander has given Vought considerable confidence. If Vought didn't understand that Halden Bruce was a puppet supported by Atlas, it would be as laughable as saying Homelander's personality is similar to Henry Cavill's Superman.

Vought certainly didn't anticipate, nor could they have known, that Samuel Young, to be cautious, had installed dynamic monitoring systems in all the residences of puppets, treating everyone equally. After all, with superhumans spread across the USA and Homelander establishing an "invincible" image in public perception, Vought doesn't have the nerve to confront Atlas and the entire military-industrial complex at the same time.

Although Vought's actions might seem like petty theft, unnoticed spying, and invasions, Samuel Young sees them as provocations. It seems that Vought can't be allowed to feel too comfortable.

Staring at the holographic screen, Samuel Young contemplated for a moment before deciding to send Arthur and the most elite hunters to Russia in a few days to secretly capture Soldier Boy, who is currently in a sedated state.

Samuel Young has a significant aversion to Compound V. He has watched all the "The Boys" series, including the spin-off "Gen V." The final episode of "Gen V" ends with Homelander asking the female lead, "What kind of monster are you? Do you enjoy attacking your kind?" The show constantly hints that most superhuman students see themselves as superior beings, not part of the same species as humans, which exacerbates conflicts and division.

As an observer, Samuel Young might admire Antony Starr's portrayal of Homelander for its intensity, finding the character charming even as a villain, and enjoy the spectacle of the protagonist group clashing with the superhumans. However, being in a world where all this is real, Samuel Young views superhumans as mutants, a "contaminated" species, and Compound V as a drug capable of significantly altering human genetics.

Yet, research must be conducted. Samuel Young maintained a harmonious relationship with Vought for nearly half a century, refraining from sending hunters to seize samples of Compound V, mainly to avoid unnecessary attention and because he didn't have sufficient strength at the time. Now, with his physical and psychic abilities having grown significantly, and possessing the ability to "Reset," he feels it's time to act and capture Soldier Boy, who can currently counter Homelander.

He could also have Alexia and the bioengineering department start refining Compound V for research, possibly leading to unexpected discoveries. After confirming his plan and deciding to draft a detailed plundering scheme the next day, Samuel Young turned his attention to another holographic screen.

The screen displayed images of people staggering, bleeding from the mouth and nose, and appearing dazed—symptoms that could indicate many diseases, like Ebola. However, the eerie atmosphere in the town of Loja made him think of "zombies." Interestingly, the first to notice something amiss in Loja wasn't Leon; it was more a case of Leon stumbling into the situation.

The flashes of various drugs, experiments, and other images in his mind indicated a connection to the Kenyan base and Congo. Though the exact reason was unclear, he didn't need to speculate. The ARS regiment stationed at the Kenyan base was ready to parachute into Loja at any time, so he just needed to wait for the investigation results.

Other issues were minor, such as the Giant 3G's sales far exceeding expectations, leading to a stock shortage and the need to produce and assemble more units, or the construction progress of base stations capable of providing 3G services, which had stalled on the East Coast of the USA due to local media sensationalism with headlines like "3G radiation exceeds standards," "3G causes cancer," and so on.

These media outlets were unaware that Atlas had already upgraded all base stations between 1988 and 1993; the delay only affected new stations. Besides keeping an eye on the cooldown of the space gate, set to complete in a few days on July 23, everything was running smoothly.

Finally able to disengage from work, Samuel Young stood up, unbuttoned his shirt's collar and cuffs, and walked slowly to the floor-to-ceiling window facing north. Gazing at the still brightly lit nightscape of Seattle and sensing the city's emotional feedback through his psychic powers, he felt a sense of "satisfaction." It was like playing "SimCity" all night and finally building the city into its envisioned form.

After enjoying the night view for a while, Samuel Young, feeling much better, turned and walked out of the office, seemingly intending to go home and check on those two clones.

___________________

Read Ahead

P@treon.com/Mutter