Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 476 Overwhelming Numbers

A luxurious villa, given as a gift upon joining the company—such offers are certainly tempting.

However, despite his initial excitement, Superman discovered that the villa wasn't as nice as he had imagined. At the very least, it wasn't very clean, and there were some things that made him feel uncomfortable.

"Is the wall lining made of zinc? There also seem to be hidden surveillance cameras and listening devices with zinc casings inside the walls."

“I might be able to accept Bruce's surveillance and tracking of me, but this is what Vought is doing.”

With that thought in mind, Clark's expression turned serious.

"Were the building materials of this house specially treated?" He looked at Barrett beside him. "I can't see what's inside."

"Oh, this one?"

Barrett explained with a smile, "Homelander is one of the earliest heroes in the Seven, so we're not worried about him spying. But superpowers are sometimes uncontrollable, and there are always occasional oversights."

"The walls of this house have been reinforced with zinc to make the other six superheroes feel more comfortable—this kind of adaptation is basically implemented in every room. The deep-sea room has a large fish tank, and the black room has a small stage. And so on."

"So I'll stay in Homelander's room?"

“You could also buy a house outside after you close your first deal—but if you ask me, since no one lives in this house anyway, it’s much more comfortable for one person to live here.”

"A private garden, underground parking, outdoor swimming pool, and masterfully designed interiors and layout details—in New York, a house like this wouldn't be cheap."

“And there’s surveillance and wiretapping too,” Clark thought to himself. “This kind of preparation by Vought was originally designed for Homelanders, but now it’s being used on me.”

"Old Ma is right, Water Company really cares about me."

He took the key from Barrett, but instead of going into the room to check it out, he went straight back to the Water Company building.

He has several other tests to complete.

Time passed gradually, the sun sank below the city's edge, and night was approaching.

"My God, your body is simply... simply an unrepeatable miracle!"

A group of researchers dressed in white surrounded Clark, their eyes scrutinizing every detail of his body with fanatical gleam: "His strength is two to three times that of Homelander, his flight speed is twice that of him, even his Cyclops' destructive power is astonishing, and then there's his physical resilience—"

A single strand of hair lay quietly on the experimental table, clamped and straightened by the immense force of the machines on both sides, shimmering with a strange luster.

“Wait, are you planning to use a chainsaw to saw it?” Clark asked. “I really don’t recommend you do that; it’s dangerous.”

"Oh, we've already tried that."

One of the researchers adjusted his glasses: "We used saw blades made of various materials. The strongest kind could even cut through a Homelander's hair, but your hair... ruined all those saw blades. One of them even flew off and cut through several expensive machines. Fortunately, the researchers were unharmed."

"Listen, we don't know the exact extent of the mutations your body has undergone, but—"

"Mutations?"

Clark noticed the unusual nature of his choice of words: "Aren't abilities innate? What does that have to do with mutation?"

"Oh, what I mean is, you yourself belong to another category of beings compared to humans, mutated, evolved. It just depends on which word you prefer to use."

The researcher glossed over the topic and continued, "Anyway, your physical strength is superior to that of the Homelander in every way, but that's the problem. We can't take a blood sample from you for genetic testing, so we need to ask someone to help us."

Clark immediately understood what he meant.

"You've invited Homelander?"

"Yes, we plan to have him try out his laser eye; that's his most powerful attack." What risks might they face if they get their blood sample?

Clark frowned. He knew he was a Kryptonian, and if Vought International were to conduct a DNA test, they would likely find that his genes belonged to a completely different species from those of humans.

Do you want to agree?
He glanced at his phone. He had already connected with Ma Zhaodi before the test began, and the other party should be keeping an eye on the situation here.

What suggestions might he have?
Clark suddenly felt a slight electric current on his back—as agreed beforehand, a shock would signify Old Ma's approval.

He finally nodded.

Five minutes later, Homelander walked into the laboratory.

"Something came up and took a while," he explained to Clark with a smile. "But I got here as soon as possible."

Clark's eyes flickered, but he didn't say anything. He simply rolled up the sleeves of his Kryptonian suit and offered his arm.

His gaze wasn't on Homelander; in fact, he was focused on something else entirely.

He lowered his head, his ears catching two voices coming from inside the Water Company.

"Boss, we need to meet with the mayor of Baltimore next. The meeting is in ten minutes."

This is the voice of Barrett, the talent manager.

"Okay, what about Homelander's autographed photo? Is it ready? Steve specifically mentioned on the phone that his son really likes Homelander, and I'll give it to him when we meet."

This is the voice of Madeline Stivell, the vice president of the superhero management department.

"It's right here, I just signed it."

“Very well, Barrett, go ahead, I’ll prepare a little.”

Their conversation paused for a moment, then Barrett suddenly said, "Should we install lead layers in some areas?"

"No need. The parts that need an insulation layer, like the thirty-third layer, have already been reinforced with zinc. Superman can't see through them anyway, so there's no need to go through the trouble of renovating them again. Edgar would find it inconvenient."

"Our CEO? He tacitly approved it?"

"There's no need to speculate about his thoughts. If he doesn't say, we shouldn't presume to be clever."

sizzle-

A burning sensation came from his arm, and Clark came to his senses to find Homelander staring coldly at his arm, attacking with full force using his heat vision, as if he was angry about Clark's momentary lapse in concentration.

He felt he was being looked down upon.

However, it took dozens of seconds for the scorching laser to cut into his arm before he could feel even a little bit of pain.

"I've already hidden most of my speed and power," Clark thought with a hint of helplessness. "But there's really nothing I can do about physical strength."

"Alright, let's stop for now."

A researcher came up and patted Homelander on the shoulder: "We probably won't be able to collect any blood today."

However, upon hearing this, the red light in the eyes of the man from the motherland grew even stronger.

(End of this chapter)