Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 491 Heroism
"amazing."

When those three words came out of Clark's mouth, Starlight suddenly couldn't stop her tears. Even though Maeve had reminded her not to cry in the Seven and not to show her weakness, she still couldn't help it.

Starlight is not weak, and crying does not mean weakness.

amazing.

These were words she had dreamed of hearing from the mouth of her idol.

“I thought I would get the hero life I wanted after joining The Seven.” She wiped away her tears: “Help more people, take down more bad guys, and learn to be a more mature hero little by little.”

Just like in movies or comics, you gradually become stronger and more composed, and one day you are recognized by everyone.

"Then, those veteran heroes who once thought I was naive and young will look at me with new eyes, whether it's Homelander or Deep Sea Sky. Just saying those names makes me feel disgusted."

She looked up at Superman, whose gaze held a calm warmth. In front of such a hero, crying was perhaps permissible.

And so her tears flowed even more uncontrollably.

"I used to imagine that one day they would say to me with satisfaction, 'You're amazing,' and that would be my happiest moment."

Clark pulled out a tissue and handed it to Starlight, whose face was covered in tears, but her lips were stretched into a smile that looked like she was laughing, or perhaps crying.

"This dream shattered on my first day at Water. I finally realized what the hero I had always admired really was, and I finally realized what Water was."

“I’m going to team up with crazy teammates to put on a show because ‘people love heroes teaming up, it can boost media attention and trending topics by at least 23%’; I’m going to do missions according to the list on Vought’s list because ‘Vought only needs you to execute, he doesn’t need you to investigate or think.’”

“I can’t even teach those two drunken scumbags who attempted rape a lesson because there would be ‘public pressure’—but if I can’t even do one normal good deed, what kind of hero am I?”

"Then, what should we do?"

Clark asked seriously, "No one is born destined to bear so much pressure for someone else's life and live so unhappily—if you go back to your hometown, Des Moines, you should be able to have a life of your own."

Should we give up on this path?

".don't want."

"Still want to be a hero?"

"think."

"There will be many more upsetting things like this."

"I know."

"Then why continue?"

"Because Vought International is now the world's largest superhero company, if even The Seven is like this, then you can imagine what the community superheroes below are like."

Starlight wiped away her tears and makeup. Actually, she wasn't bad-looking even without makeup; it was just that she had participated in too many hero auditions since she was a child, and she had gotten used to dressing herself up like this.

Her expression became very resolute.

"If I don't stand up and do something truly good, then won't this world only be protected by those two hundred-odd Water heroes and the Seven?" "I don't want to back down, I want to be a true hero."

Seeing Starlight's expression, Clark couldn't help but laugh.

“Amazing.” After saying that, he paused, then added another sentence.

"It's truly remarkable."

He has been a superhero for over a decade, and that's why his praise is not just empty words. He knows all too well how much grievance, sacrifice, misunderstanding, and setback there is on this seemingly glamorous path.

He really liked a piece of inspirational wisdom that Lao Ma once mentioned to him—he said that in his universe, there was a man named Romain Rolland who said: "There is only one true heroism in the world: to see the world as it is and still love it."

Those who cannot accept failure cannot be called heroes.

So he used the simplest language to express the most profound affirmation.

At that moment, Barrett appeared in the lobby and greeted everyone.

“Hey, Starlight.” She walked over and said, “Ms. Stivewell (Madeline) wants to see you. Please come to my office with me.”

Clark and Starlight exchanged a glance. Starlight, who had just made some bold statements, suddenly felt a little uneasy when she heard that Stiewell wanted her to go to the office. Although she still had the same idea, she now felt like a poor student being called to the teacher's office.

How long would it take to replicate this?

In Franky's small, dark factory room, the weapons on the table had been put away, and transparent glass bottles and jars were laid out. Franky was holding a beaker and a stirring rod in his hand—Breaking Bad mode was activated.

When the Butcher asked how long it would take to replicate the poison, Franky couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Alright, that's enough. I've mixed a lot of poisons, but colorless and odorless little blue bottles are rare. And even if I could mix it now, it would take me a day or two to find a source of those glass tubes for you."

"so troublesome"

Ma Zhaodi didn't seem too anxious: "There are still two doses of Compound No. 5 left in the safe, and Locomotive probably won't use it every day—or rather, even if he takes one dose every day, two doses should last for two days."

“We’re not going to switch the two vials, that would be discovered very quickly. Our goal is to switch them after the locomotive finishes the first vial the next time he gets the medicine.”

"What if he's not so lucky?" the butcher asked. "It all comes down to luck. What if he draws our fake item a second time?"

"The bags that packaged compound No. 5 were arranged in a very regular pattern, somewhat like oral liquids. People tend to use consumables arranged like this from the end they start using to the other end."

The two immediately understood.

"If he used the leftmost potion for his first dose, you'd put the fake one on the right?"

"That's pretty much the gist of it." Ma Zhaodi nodded. "However, this plan is still a backup plan for now, because our priority is to follow the locomotive and find out where it is transporting Compound V to—there might be some Compound V stored there. If there are enough, we can just steal one, and the probability of being detected will be very small."

"Following the locomotive, buddy, that's as funny as drowning in the deep sea. Do you know why the Vought Company entrusts transportation to locomotives?"

Franky scoffed: "Because that guy is almost at the speed of sound, his speed is the best way to keep secrets."

“It was about following, not tracking,” Ma Zhaodi replied. “When I sneaked into the woman’s house, I also smelled some very interesting scents.”

(End of this chapter)