Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 513 Addiction

Faced with Clark's persuasion, the locomotive couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.

He wasn't a complete novice who knew nothing about sports. He knew, of course, that what the other person said couldn't be an exaggeration. He also knew that even if Superman knew nothing about Compound V, he could indeed see through his own body and feel the changes happening within him.

Not to mention, Locomotive alone knows of more than twenty athletes who died suddenly due to excessive doping, with heart problems being just one of the ways they died.

Of course, one person only needs one way to die.

Locomotive had heard similar advice from different people more than once. His older brother, who grew up with him and is now his track and field coach and the one who designed his training plan, once told him that he should become number one through his own hard work and rigorous training, and there was no need to take shortcuts.

The woman with the claws had been advising him not to use this uncontrollable drug too often. She knew it was harmful to his body and told him that he was already the fastest superhero in the world and there was no need for him to use such a self-damaging drug.

Everyone there was sincere and genuine, and they were all his closest people.

But the locomotive never listened to their advice, and no one could persuade him.

Perhaps it was because the desire for speed, victory, or fame far outweighed any concern for oneself; perhaps it was because they were already aware of the Vought Corporation's merchandise-selling mentality, treating their heroes as disposable items; or perhaps it was simply a matter of wishful thinking.
Or perhaps, compound five really did make him addicted.

Why not? With this, you'll have contracts worth hundreds of millions a year, a life of extravagance, widespread adoration, unbridled privileges, extraordinary abilities, and limitless power.
Compound 5 itself is just a hallucinogen; it doesn't contain any addictive chemical components. Wealth, fame, and power—these are the things that can be obtained through it, and they are the most addictive, the things that make people obsessed and even willing to abandon all moral boundaries for them.

Even before the symptoms worsened to the point of flare-up, Locomotive was still able to deceive himself time and time again, and break his own bottom line again and again.

In short, faced with Superman's persuasion, the locomotive's expression gradually turned ugly.

"I have my own ideas about my own affairs, and it's none of your business."

"pity."

Clark thought to himself that perhaps broken bones are the best lessons. Like many people, the locomotive only learned to think and cherish after suffering.

"Perhaps I really can't persuade you to give up injecting compound five, but I want today's match to be fair."

"What do you mean?"

“I will stop you from injecting that drug and make you finish the game on equal footing. Even if you take out that drug at top speed and stick it into your vein in a tenth of a second, I will take it from your hand in a hundredth of a second.”

When he met Superman's gaze, A-Train clenched his fists tightly. He didn't answer Superman's question immediately, but instead looked down at his watch—there was still half an hour before the start of the game.

"You arrived two hours early just to meddle? Why not learn from those two and arrive at this time to steal the spotlight and get media coverage—at least everyone will be in a good mood."

boom--

A whooshing sound came from the sky, and a figure wearing a Stars and Stripes cape descended from the heavens, eliciting deafening cheers and a frenzied throng of support from the crowd. It was Homelander, whom Edgar had asked to come and promote the locomotive.

Queen Maeve, dressed in leather armor, entered with him.

Smiling, waving, answering questions—the standard superstar routine—Homelander made his grand entrance, unabashedly drawing all eyes to himself from the two main characters of the race, basking in the spotlight. He genuinely enjoyed the moment.

Maeve's smile was very formulaic. She gave a perfunctory greeting and arrived next to Superman ten minutes later.

"Why is the way the train engine is looking at you like you're an enemy? It seems like you're not getting along very well with your new colleague?"

Clark smiled helplessly. He looked at Homelander, who was being fawned over, and noticed that Homelander's gaze kept drifting in their direction with a somewhat unfriendly look. He replied, "Homelander doesn't seem too happy looking at you either. Something must have gone wrong in your relationship with him."

They both laughed.

"Doing good deeds is not easy."

After laughing, Maeve sighed, "I reckon Homelander will be giving me a hard time from now on."

"The locomotive probably hates me too."

Clark's gaze fell on the wide running track: "But I had no choice; that thing really would kill him."

"what?"

"I don't know, but it's a blue compound, very peculiar, similar to a hormone or stimulant."

Homelander's gaze suddenly sharpened as he recalled the news he had received the day before yesterday—a small base for Asian experimental subjects had been suddenly shut down, and the person who did it was still completely unknown, even their face was covered up.

All eight Compound V samples were missing, and the highly aggressive and destructive test subject was nowhere to be found. Those guarding the base hadn't even seen a single one of the madmen. This enraged the Vought leadership, who declared that the group of terrorists who shone so brightly were utterly useless, more trouble than they were worth.

But no matter how furious they were, they still had no clues, and they couldn't even tell whether the other party was after the person and took Compound V along the way, or after Compound V and kidnapped the person as well.

Upon careful examination of the matter, Homelander discovered that outside of Vought International, there were very few people who knew about the Compound V distribution network, and even fewer who had leaked the information. He investigated A-Train and instructed A-Train to investigate Catwoman. He even flew around New York City several times, but still found nothing.

"Did you take drugs before the game?" Maeve asked calmly. "That's certainly the style of A-Team."

“I haven’t told anyone about this, and please remember to keep it a secret,” Clark said. “I just want to stop him from injecting himself with drugs again, otherwise his heart probably won’t last much longer.”

"Why bother? It's his choice. Let him fend for himself. After all, he has the freedom to choose."

"His choice will bring injustice and misfortune to many people, including himself."

Superman replied, "Once he realizes these things, he'll find it's too late to turn back—I've seen tragedies like this, and I don't want more people to repeat the same mistakes."

He thought of Louis's blood-and-tears weeping in that dark multiverse, and the heart-wrenching sorrow and despair that tore at his heart.

(End of this chapter)