Chapter 54: Because I Can Push Him to the Position of a God
A few days later, Xia Shang's office was moved to the eighth floor of Vought Tower, which meant he was one step closer to Vought's center of power.
Xia Shang greatly anticipated the day he would become Vought International's CEO. By then, he would change Vought International's operational strategy, promoting Compound V across the board. He wanted to make Compound V as common as firearms, even establishing a Compound V Association specifically to manage Supes created by Compound V.
Because only with a large enough base can more powerful Superpowers be nurtured.
What he needed to do now was help Vought International increase its Discourse Power. Only by controlling Discourse Power could they guide the direction of public opinion, and simultaneously ensure Madelyn Stillwell's Military Plan proceeded smoothly. A company that could control the military and global Discourse Power was a true global hegemon.
In fact, Xia Shang's ideas were quite similar to Vice President Madelyn Stillwell's, except Xia Shang was more radical, while Madelyn Stillwell leaned towards creating greater profit value for the company.
"Perhaps, Homelander and I will get along well, because I can push him to the position of a god." Xia Shang interlaced his fingers, placing them before his abdomen. Only at this moment did he truly reveal his ambition.
Unfortunately, the current Homelander only listened to Madelyn Stillwell.
Unless Madelyn Stillwell died, Xia Shang needed to wait... wait for a perfect opportunity.
In the afternoon, inside the Public Relations Department Office.
As the true culprit behind Translucent's death, Xia Shang reported his work to his superior, Ashley Barrett, without changing his expression.
"Translucent has been out of contact for almost a week. If he doesn't show up for a long time, it will definitely arouse public suspicion. Now, rumors about Translucent's death are circulating online. I think we need to make Translucent appear as soon as possible, otherwise, this incident could potentially brew a new storm of public opinion."
Previously, Ashley Barrett had already learned of Translucent's death from Madelyn Stillwell.
She also had a terrible headache about this matter.
Vought International was currently at a critical juncture. Translucent's death absolutely could not be announced. It was important to know that a Supe being killed was not conducive to the passing of the Military Bill. Once the Bill was scrapped, Madelyn Stillwell's plan to integrate Supes into the national defense system and privatize war would completely vanish into thin air.
"Translucent is dead. Homelander is currently investigating the cause of his death," Ashley Barrett said directly. In fact, she wanted to see if her assistant had any good solutions.
Xia Shang walked to the coffee machine and made a cup of coffee for Ashley Barrett.
"The solution is simple: just have Translucent show up. As long as the public sees Translucent with their own eyes, the rumors online will collapse on their own."
Ashley Barrett took the coffee Xia Shang handed her, saying with considerable confusion, "But Translucent is already dead, how can he show up? Are we going to resurrect him?"
"I currently have three sets of solutions. The first set: We can re-upload Translucent's past videos online using editing techniques to create the illusion that he's still alive. Unfortunately, the drawback is that it's too easily discovered. After all, we can't underestimate the observation skills of netizens. Furthermore, doing this doesn't have very high credibility and can easily cause a new wave of public opinion."
After Xia Shang finished explaining the first solution, he began to talk about the second set.
"The second set of solutions: We can find someone who looks very similar to Translucent and have him impersonate Translucent. The drawback is that it takes too long, and we might not have that much time to find such a person."
"What about the third set of solutions?"
Ashley Barrett, holding her coffee, asked impatiently.
Xia Shang's first two solutions made her quite satisfied, making her look forward to his third set of solutions even more.
Xia Shang smiled and took a sip of coffee. "Find a Supe with Transformation Ability and have them turn into Translucent."
That's right, Xia Shang's real goal was to make the Doppelganger appear. Because the Doppelganger only took orders from Vice President Madelyn Stillwell and specifically did some unsavory deeds for her, such as acquiring dirt on senators, there was no trace of his existence in the Vought Superhero Database. "A Supe with Transformation Ability... Vought International doesn't seem to have anyone like that," Ashley Barrett mused for a long time, unable to find a suitable candidate.
"Anyway, all three solutions above are feasible. Why not leave it to Madelyn Stillwell to decide?"
According to his prediction, if the situation didn't escalate to an extremely serious point, Madelyn Stillwell would absolutely not reveal the Doppelganger as a trump card. Even if the risk wasn't great, she wouldn't let the Doppelganger appear. After all, once the Doppelganger's Superpower was known to outsiders, it would inevitably arouse the vigilance of many people.
However, Xia Shang would make Madelyn Stillwell reveal this trump card herself.
Subsequently, just as Xia Shang expected, Madelyn Stillwell chose the first two sets of solutions. The first set was to buy time, and the second set was to find someone similar to Translucent.
Unfortunately, Xia Shang wouldn't let her plan succeed.
The next day, news that Vought International had deliberately concealed the cause of Translucent's death using editing techniques instantly topped the trending searches.
Countless fans of Translucent, holding banners high, angrily blocked the entrance of Vought Tower, demanding an explanation from Vought.
Listening to the commotion coming from outside.
Xia Shang, standing by the window and watching everything, calmly drank the coffee in his hand.
Bang! Ashley Barrett didn't even have time to eat breakfast before she frantically pushed open the door to Xia Shang's Office.
"What's going on?! Your first solution didn't have any effect at all! Instead, it made the matter of Translucent's death top the trending searches! Translucent's fans are acting like they're insane! What do they want? To storm Vought Tower?" Ashley Barrett was so anxious she was almost going crazy. The string of public relations incidents caused her to lose handfuls of her golden hair every time she ran her hand through it.
Xia Shang turned to look at her, frowning. "Regarding the drawback of the first solution, I think I already explained it very clearly. Using a lie to cover up the truth, and eventually when the lie is exposed, the public's anger is an inevitable phenomenon."
At this moment.
Inside the Vice President's Office, Madelyn Stillwell was contemplating how to handle this matter.
"I'll go make them leave." Homelander walked into the Office, his face ashen. He went to the refrigerator, took out a milk bottle that was still slightly warm, twisted open the cap, and sipped it little by little, savoring its wonderful taste.
"You've been a bit agitated lately."
Homelander licked the corner of his mouth, then placed the milk bottle in front of Madelyn Stillwell.
After speaking, he pushed open the window and flew straight out.
"It's Homelander! Homelander is here!" Translucent's fans became quite excited when they saw Homelander land in front of them.
"Excuse me, is Translucent dead? Why did Vought International use editing to fake the truth that he's still alive? Are you hiding something?"
A blunt question.
Homelander's eyes instantly glowed red, but the red light quickly receded. He forced a smile and faced the crowd before him.
(end of chapter)