Chapter 32.
Hughie quickly realized that this man—Frankie—was likely another one of Billy's former victims. Just like him, Frankie was probably being pulled into something crazy by Billy.
Frankie, a Frenchman and a kind of jack-of-all-trades, was skilled in everything from firearms to bomb-making. Apparently, Billy still owed him $40,000. But when Billy mentioned he had something worth $80,000, Frankie's curiosity was piqued. So, he followed Billy and Hughie to the car's trunk.
Hughie felt bad for Frankie. He could already see that the poor guy was about to be dragged into trouble, just like he had been. Still, he kept quiet—at least he wouldn't be the only one suffering anymore.
When Frankie opened the trunk and saw Translucent—half-naked and restrained in his invisible skin suit—his face fell. It was clear he'd been dragged into something far beyond what he'd expected.
Hiding the Problem
Due to Translucent's special abilities, his tracking chip had been surgically implanted inside his body—making it easy for Vought to locate him. Now that Frankie had seen him, he had no choice but to join Billy in dealing with the situation.
In desperation, Frankie found an old, abandoned diner on a deserted street in Jersey City. He converted the walk-in freezer into a makeshift prison, lining the walls with tinfoil to block the chip's signal. They also constructed a metal cage, rigged with electricity, to hold Translucent.
After imprisoning him, Billy and Frankie started brainstorming ways to kill him.
Hughie was stunned. He hadn't realized Billy brought him here to kill Translucent. Their motives clashed hard. Hughie had only wanted justice for his girlfriend—he never intended to go up against superheroes, let alone murder one. Somehow, though, he'd ended up on this runaway train.
The trio tried various methods. First, they overloaded the cage with electricity, trying to fry Translucent. It only stunned him—never killed him.
Next came electric drills, grinders, and saws—but Translucent's skin was as tough as reinforced armor. Nothing worked.
Frankie even crafted a custom bullet made from the same material as Translucent's skin. But when it was fired, the bullet simply bounced off him, ricocheted around the room, and punctured the foil insulation on the ceiling that was hiding their location. None of them noticed.
The failure frustrated them. They had a superhero locked up, completely helpless—and yet they couldn't kill him. It was only a matter of time before Vought noticed he was missing and traced him back to them.
Then Billy had an idea.
He stood up and prepared to leave. There was someone he needed to visit—an old friend working for the CIA. If anyone had detailed files on superheroes, it was her. Maybe, just maybe, there would be a clue about how to kill someone like Translucent.
.....
Meanwhile – Li Yue's Inner Conflict
As night fell, Li Yue lay on his bed, deep in thought. Today had been a serious wake-up call.
The Homelander was not someone to trust. He was unpredictable, violent—and killing seemed like it's second nature to him. One wrong move, and Li Yue could easily end up dead.
Yet despite the danger, Li Yue was reluctant to give up. Power like this… was hard to ignore.
Even after just one day, he could feel that his abilities had grown significantly. If he previously had only 10% of Homelander's power, now he had at least 12%. That might sound like a small jump, but in raw numbers, it was massive.
If Homelander could lift 100 tons, then Li Yue had gained an additional 2 tons of strength—nearly ten times that of a regular human. And that didn't even include the boosts from Thor Mode or other transformations.
To Li Yue, Homelander was like a walking battery—being around him made Li Yue stronger by the day. If he stayed close and trained like this every day, he estimated it would take only a month and a half to match Homelander's full power. After that, he wouldn't need to fear anyone.
"Well, no use overthinking it. I've got the ability to escape if things go south. I just need to be cautious. If danger comes, I'll run. No one, not even Homelander, can outpace teleportation!"
"Enough thinking—back to training. Set an alarm for 8 a.m. tomorrow."
As he finished speaking, Li Yue laid back. A transparent version of himself floated out of his body and crossed its legs in mid-air. Sparkling energy gathered from the surroundings and merged into his soul.
To Li Yue, cultivation had become a form of rest.
At Vought Headquarters
While Li Yue trained in peace, things at Vought were growing tense. Translucent had been missing for over 24 hours, and people were finally starting to take notice. They had already ruled out the idea that he had gone on a drunken bender—this was something far more serious.
Suddenly, the tracking chip implanted in the invisible person sent out a faint signal. The Vought Technology Department received it, but because the signal was so weak, they could only determine a rough location—somewhere near a street in Jersey City.
They immediately informed the company's Vice President, Madeleine. Without much thought, Madeleine ordered a search team to head there and conduct a discreet investigation to see if anything suspicious could be found.
However, the search couldn't be carried out openly, as that would arouse public suspicion. The Translucent hadn't appeared in public for quite some time, and if people noticed his absence, it would become clear that they had gone missing.
If news of the Translucent's disappearance spread, it would trigger public doubt and distrust. People would begin to question, if superheroes can't even protect themselves, how can they protect the public? The plan to integrate superheroes into the Ministry of Defense would collapse completely—and that was the last thing Madeleine wanted.
"Find Translucent at any cost. Also, make an official announcement that Translucent is currently carrying out a covert mission, which is why he hasn't been seen in public lately," Madeleine ordered firmly. She knew she had to keep this matter under control—this was a critical moment in deciding whether superheroes would be allowed into the Ministry of Defense. There could be no room for error.
Meanwhile, outside, the Homelander was secretly observing Madeleine. During the day, he'd been tied up dealing with Li Yue and couldn't find the opportunity to spy. Now, at night, he had finally managed to shake Li Yue off.
Just as Homelander was spying on Madeleine, he was nearly spotted by Starlight, who had just returned in plain clothes. Fortunately, Starlight was only a little curious and had no idea what Homelander was really doing.
…..
Inside, Frenchie and Hughie were tense after their encounter with the search team. Just as they began to relax, there was a knock at the door. It was Billy—he had returned!
However, Billy did not bring good news. He hadn't been able to find a way to kill Translucent.
All three of them looked grim and uncertain about what to do next. Then suddenly, something on the television caught Frenchie's attention. A program was introducing the traits of turtles.
"I've got an idea!" Frenchie exclaimed excitedly and immediately sprang into action.
"What idea?"
Billy and Hughie both looked at him curiously, intrigued by his sudden enthusiasm.
The quiet night passed quickly, and morning arrived once again.
Li Yue returned to the Seven Group's building and unexpectedly ran into Homeland face-to-face. It was unclear where he was heading.
"Thunder, perfect timing! Come with me—we've got something to take care of today!"
Seeing Li Yue approaching, Homelander's eyes lit up. He was just about to head out, and Li Yue's appearance couldn't have been more convenient.
"Alright! Just fill me in on the details," Li Yue replied without hesitation. He was eager to take action alongside Homelander.
He followed behind Homeland Homelander while quietly activating his evolution ability. After walking for a while, they arrived at the technical department.
"Heh, good morning, Homelander! What brings you here today?" An employee who noticed Homelander enter immediately greeted him with a nervous smile.
As soon as Homelander walked in, everyone in the technical department stiffened. They quickly returned to their seats, visibly anxious. No one wanted to attract his attention.
At Vought Company, the person everyone feared the most was Vice President Madeleine. Second to her was Homelander. Whenever either of them appeared, employees dared not even breathe too loudly.
"Have you found Translucent?" Homeland Homelander didn't waste time. He walked straight up to a woman seated in front of a computer and asked bluntly.
Inside the company, Homelander didn't bother with politeness or his usual signature smile. His expression was deadly serious.
"Uh… Homelander, the search team is still working on it! I believe we'll have results soon."
"I'm asking you—have you found Translucent yet?" His voice grew sterner, and the woman in front of the screen began to stammer in fear.
"N-not yet… still missing. But…"
"He's been gone for 24 hours and you still haven't found him? Forget it—just tell me where the signal was last detected."
"Should I call to confirm—?"
"No need. You must understand, I'm a superhero. I can do anything, right? By the way… I don't believe I caught your name?"
Homelander's face suddenly broke into a smile—but to the woman, it felt more like a devil's grin. She trembled slightly under the pressure.
"My name is... My name is Annika."
"Ms. Annika, that's a lovely name. Now, please tell me where Translucent last signal was detected."
Homelander stepped behind Annika, placed his hands firmly on Annika's shoulders, and stared at her intently.
Li –Yue, observing the scene, feared that Homelander might lose his temper and harm Annika in a fit of rage.
Fortunately, Annika didn't resist for long and eventually disclosed the location to Homelander.
Without a word, Homelander picked up Li Yue and flew out of the building, heading straight toward the specified location.
Notably, this time Homelander flew at just over the speed of sound, rather than his usual near tenfold speed of sound. Nonetheless, he reached the destination swiftly.
Meanwhile, after considerable effort, Billy and his team managed to devise a way to kill Translucent using rather unsavory but effective methods.
They first incapacitated him and then inserted a remote-controlled bomb into his body. Due to concerns about vomiting and gastric acid, they avoided the mouth and used another unmentionable entry point.
Frankie, recalling a turtle he had seen on TV, theorized that while the invisible person's exterior was tough, his internal organs were as vulnerable as any human's. Therefore, detonating a bomb from within would effectively eliminate him.
Upon regaining consciousness and hearing Frankie's explanation, Translucent was stunned and terrified. He realized these people were capable of extreme measures.
"Please don't kill me! I'll tell you everything you want to know, just don't kill me!"
Fearing for his life, Translucent quickly offered to divulge any information they sought.
"Don't you want to know what happened when the A-Train killed his girlfriend? I don't know the details, but Claw Girl does. They're a couple. They thought they were discreet, but I noticed. There's nothing the A-Train hides from her."
"I've told you everything I know. Please, let me go..."
"Claw Girl? The one with bone spurs on her arms?" Billy inquired.
"Yes, that's her. You can ask her directly. Just let me go. I promise I won't reveal anything about you."
Desperate to survive, Translucent abandoned all dignity, pleading for his life.
However, Billy had long harbored resentment toward superhumans and had no intention of showing mercy. Translucent's pleas fell on deaf ears.
After extracting the information, they left Translucent confined and stepped outside to strategize their next move regarding Claw Girl. As they reviewed nearby surveillance footage, they noticed a figure flying past rapidly. The speed was so great that they couldn't discern that Li Yue was being carried.
This unexpected development concerned them. Homelander's arrival posed a significant threat.
"We need to divert his attention, or he'll find us sooner or later," Billy stated seriously.
"How do we do that?" French asked anxiously.
"Let's blow it up!"
"What? That's the base I built with a lot of money. You want to destroy it just like that?"
"Put it on my tab."
Frenchie was speechless. "You already owe me 40,000 and haven't paid it back. Now you're adding more to the account?"
But considering the stakes, French reluctantly agreed.
....
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