Alien invasion? Luckily, I'm Superman.

Watching Su Mo descend from the sky, Butcher let out a slight sigh of relief, his tense shoulders relaxing a little. He waved his hand.

"We weren't late, we made it just in time."

"That's good."

Su Mo nodded, turned around, and looked at Xuan Se in front of her.

Xuanse stood still, clad in full black armor, his mask revealing no expression. His left hand hung at his side, the remaining dart still between his fingers, the metal surface reflecting the headlights.

"Xuan Se," Su Mo said calmly, "let us leave, and I'll spare your life. How about it?"

Xuan Se shook his head. He drew a long sword from his waist with his right hand, the blade flashing in the lamplight.

Su Mo sighed softly.

Then he disappeared.

In the blink of an eye, Su Mo appeared behind Xuan Se, with his back to Xuan Se.

"Well then, goodbye, executioner."

His voice was very soft, as if he were talking to someone who could no longer hear.

Behind him, the black lower body remained standing, motionless.

His upper body exploded into a cloud of blood mist in mid-air.

Blood mist drifted in the air, landing on the armored vehicles, on the road, and on Butcher's Chevrolet hood, like a brief, red rain.

His lower body finally collapsed, falling heavily onto the asphalt road with a thud.

"Holy crap." Hughie's voice forced out, his entire body pressed against the car seat, his eyes wide open, "Is this all you've got? Why were you hiding it?"

Su Mo turned around and flicked the non-existent bloodstains off her sleeve.

"Well, I just wanted to keep a low profile," he chuckled. "But now it seems there's no need."

He wasn't telling the truth. He had been hiding his strength because he was afraid there might be DC villains in this world, and he didn't want to get involved—it was too dangerous. (This was a scrapped draft; originally, Batman would have also appeared, but the outline was significantly revised.)

Now we've discovered this is just a normal dungeon. Of the seven, only Homelander can fight; the others can't even break his defenses. So what's the point of hiding?

After saying that, Su Mo lifted off the ground and instantly appeared next to the helicopter.

The helicopter hovered in mid-air. Shen Hai, sitting at the cabin door, recoiled when he saw Su Mo suddenly appear in front of him, almost sliding off his seat.

Su Mo didn't look at him. His right hand gripped the edge of the hatch, his fingers sinking into the metal as if squeezing a block of tofu. He pulled outwards, tearing the hatch off completely.

Madeline sat at the very back of the cabin, but she still shrank back as far as she could, her back pressed tightly against the seat. Her lips were trembling.

Su Mo leaned in and grabbed her neck, but his fingers didn't exert any force.

"Tell me, where is Butcher's wife? Or I'll kill you."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word pierced Madeline's ears like steel needles.

Madeline opened her mouth, her face flushed, and fear made her blood rush to her head.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Her voice trembled slightly, "In the suburbs of Maryland...!"

Su Mo looked at her, confirming that she wasn't lying and was telling the truth. (People in this country can use super vision to tell if someone is lying, so Su Mo certainly can too.)

Su Mo nodded and released her grip. Madeline slumped back into her seat, clutching her neck and gasping for breath.

Su Mo didn't look at her again. He stepped out of the cabin door, hovered in the air, and called out in the direction of Butcher.

"I've got the address, I'll go first! You guys go ahead with your work!"

Butcher stood beside the car, still holding a pistol, looking up at him.

Su Mo knew his current state. If he were to do it himself, he would definitely give up on submitting the evidence and drive straight to find Becca.

But evidence can't wait. It's better to let Butcher, a professional, handle the negotiations with the government. Su Mo should just leave it to himself.

He turned and flew in the direction Madeline had indicated.

Butcher watched Su Mo's figure disappear into the horizon, then he turned around, glanced at the dark wreckage on the ground, snorted coldly, raised his head, and gave the middle finger to Madeline, who was still panting in the helicopter.

The standard international friendly gesture.

Then he opened the car door, got into the driver's seat, and turned the key. The engine roared to life.

"Fasten your seatbelt."

Butcher said to Hughie.

The Chevrolet roared out of the street, turned the corner, and disappeared into the city.

In the helicopter, Madeline sat in her seat, a red mark around her neck. She stared at the departing Chevrolet, her lips trembling as she muttered a few curses. She reached for the phone.

"President." Her voice was hoarse, trembling slightly. "Xuanse is dead. Butcher has escaped, taking the hospital's records and the locomotive. There's some superhuman who appeared out of nowhere; he can fly, and he's even stronger than Homelander."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

The voice of Uncle Fried Chicken came through the receiver, eerily calm.

"understood."

Then the call ended.

Madeline held the phone and heard a busy tone coming from the other end, as faint as a mosquito's buzz amidst the roar of the helicopter engine.

The scene changes.

Su Mo flew through the air, passing over several mountains and a wide lake, before finally seeing a small town.

It is surrounded by man-made forests and fences, with only one road connecting it to the outside world. From the air, the town's layout is very orderly, like a blueprint measured with a ruler. It is a nearly completely enclosed town.

Su Mo landed on the road at the entrance of the town. Ignoring the ubiquitous surveillance cameras, she entered the town under the watchful eyes of security personnel.

Clearly, the security personnel here had received advance notice and knew they couldn't stop Su Mo, so there was no point in trying.

Almost everyone in the town is an actor hired by the Water Group, and Su Mo doesn't yet know why.

Su Mo didn't pay attention to any of that. He walked to a house next to the community center. The house wasn't big, just two stories, with white exterior walls, blue shutters, and a small garden in front with a few rose bushes. There was a plastic slide and a red ball on the lawn.

He rang the doorbell.

The door opened.

A woman stood in the doorway. She had blonde hair, wore a dark blue T-shirt, jeans, and slippers. Her face had fine lines, but her features were beautiful, and her eyes were light brown.

Her expression changed from calm when she opened the door to surprise. A stranger she had never seen before was standing in the doorway. Was it Walter's new neighbor?

"Wow," Su Mo said, keeping her voice as soft as possible, "You must be Billy Butcher's wife."

Becca's hand tightened its grip on the doorknob. She shifted slightly to the side, instinctively pulling the door closer to her, as if guarding against something.

"Hmm." Her voice was cautious. "Are you Butcher's friend, or Walter's man?"

"I'm Butcher's friend." Su Mo didn't move forward, but stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets, his posture as casual as possible. "For eight years, he's been working to kill Homelander and bring down the Vought Corporation. Now he's almost there. We learned from Vought that you're still alive, so I came to pick you up and protect you—"

He paused, then looked down. A little boy peeked out from behind Becca, about seven or eight years old, wearing a blue T-shirt, with blond hair, and features almost identical to Homelander's. He hugged Becca's leg, looking up at Su Mo with bright blue eyes, devoid of fear, filled with curiosity.

He looked away and turned to Becca.

"—And the safety of your children. Don't worry about the Homelander's threat; I've already defeated him. There's no need to be afraid anymore."

Becca was stunned.

Her lips parted slightly, and her gaze shifted from Su Mo's face. The Homelanders had been defeated. These words swirled in her mind at least twice before finally settling on a point she could understand.

The reason she disappeared from Butcher's sight was because she feared he would impulsively seek revenge and be killed by Homelander. She would rather Butcher believe she was dead than see his corpse.

But now, Butcher not only hasn't given up on revenge, he's succeeded. Although it wasn't him who did it, but his friend, the result is the same.

Becca looked down at the child in her arms. The boy looked up at her, his little hands clutching her trouser leg. Although he didn't understand what the adults were talking about, he sensed his mother's change in mood, and a hint of unease appeared in his eyes.

Becca was silent for about five seconds. Then she looked up at Su Mo and nodded.

"Okay, I agree."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was steady. It wasn't just for Butcher, but also for the children.

Confined to this small town by the Vought Corporation, the child will never grow up, forever living in a cage. As a mother, she can't bear to leave her child, but with Vought constantly monitoring him, she has no choice.

She finally made up her mind to break free from the control of the Water Corporation completely.