Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 542 The First Thunder
“There’s a saying in my area that I’ve found to be very true ever since I mastered the skills of hand-to-hand combat.”

Ma Zhaodi pulled the Han sword from Maeve's stomach, drawing a splash of bright red blood, and then tossed her a piece of candy.

"They say there's a high wall between hand-to-hand combat and armed combat."

Maeve popped the candy into her mouth and picked up her longsword again: "Is this the reason you suddenly mutated into a sword master overnight?"

"What genetic mutation? This is called a genius. He relies on all my insights, a lifetime of martial arts, unparalleled wisdom and invincible talent, so his progress is a bit fast, which is perfectly reasonable."

Ma Zhaodi coughed twice: "In short, if everyone's skill level is about the same, and you have a weapon that can harm a superpowered person while I don't, then I might not be able to beat you."

So last night he spent $150,000 in asset points to buy the Master-level Swordsmanship Proficiency skill—the original price was $180,000, but Maeve trained him to the advanced level, so he saved $30,000 in asset points by paying the difference.

Isn't this a win-win situation?

"So from today onwards, your combat training will be changed to two parts: the first half unarmed and the second half with weapons."

Ma Zhaodi waved his hand: "Alright, from today onwards, it's only me tormenting you, not you tormenting me. Just accept your fate."

Maeve gritted her teeth and picked up two two-handed longswords from the ground. Since Ma Zhaodi's swords couldn't break her defenses anyway, she planned to use the exchange of injuries to beat him until he cried for his mother.

"Jingle Bell--"

The ringing of the phone suddenly interrupted the tense atmosphere. Maeve frowned and picked up her phone, surprised that Walter was urging her to come to work so early today.

"Hello?" she asked. "Barrett? What happened?"

"Come back quickly! There's an emergency. Get back to the company immediately!"

Barrett's voice betrayed a nervous panic: "Madeline has been taken away by the CIA for investigation! You all need to get back to the company immediately!"

"what?!"

Maeve gasped, immediately hung up the phone, dropped her longsword, and picked up her backpack: "No training today! We'll talk about it tomorrow!"

"Don't skimp on the money, remember to transfer it to my account."

Following Ma Zhaodi's instructions, Maeve rushed out the door and sped back to the Vought Building at lightning speed.

She rushed into the conference room and found Barrett, Locomotive, and Black all there, but the others were nowhere to be seen.

"Superman is watching Homelander, but the Deep Sea and the Invisible Man, Starlight will be here soon too."

Barrett explained, "There's no time, let's check the news first."

She turned on the TV.

"Breaking news! Oh my god!"

The blonde female news anchor looked at the information card and exclaimed in a very unprofessional manner.

"The Vice President of Heroes Management at Vought International has just been taken away by government authorities for investigation, and a large amount of related information from unknown sources has appeared online. We will explain this to you in detail—"

Barrett changed the channel.

"Compound No. 5, this keyword appears multiple times in the data. We are not sure whether the magical drug described in this post that 'can turn ordinary babies into superpowered beings' actually exists, but I have never believed in the so-called 'divinely bestowed superpowers' rhetoric—" Barrett changed the channel again.

"Using babies for drug trials? George, this is completely immoral and illegal, it's appalling. Look at these videos, these babies in the intensive care unit, and the blue liquid in these IV bags—I never imagined that even a charity like the Samaritan Foundation would become Walter's accomplice."

"Come on, Will, the Vought International was founded during World War II, and some of its founders were Jewish. How could they do something like this? Besides, those superheroes have protected us for so long. I think these videos online are just fabricated by some people to slander and defame Vought. You know, technology is very advanced now."

Change the channel again.

"I was on that plane. I was almost sliced ​​in half by Homelander's heat vision that day, so if you ask me if I believe in this kind of thing—I can only say that I am now skeptical of everything in Vought International except Superman."

"You mean Superman? Superman only joined Vought a few days ago and he saved us, so of course he's fine."

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Walter has connections with Shining Glory?! I was wondering why A-Train always showed up in that Chinatown. I even saw those tattooed guys shooting guns in the street with my own eyes."

"And Homelander, he even 'bombed' in the street once, but Vought said he was there to eliminate terrorists. Turns out he was there to silence him?"

Barrett turned off the TV.

Maeve had already taken out her phone and was looking at the videos and information online, her face showing a look of horror. She was an old friend of Walter's and of course had heard about these things, but Madeline thought she was too conscientious, so she didn't let her handle these things herself.

Such important and confidential information was leaked so easily?
And how were those videos, filmed almost face-to-face, managed? Was it some kind of cutting-edge CIA technology? Hidden cameras?

Her thoughts were in turmoil. She glanced back and saw that the other members of the group of seven had also arrived long ago, and their expressions were no better than Madeline's.

Especially the train engine driver, who was already Black, now looked even darker. He could already imagine how people would judge him as a superhero after this incident.

No, if you think about it carefully, after this incident, his superhero status might be gone along with Vought's.

"Alright, everyone listen up."

Barrett's voice brought the distraught heroes back to their senses: "The company urgently recalled you because the situation is very urgent, and everyone needs to have a unified message and a public relations script."

"During this period, you should not do anything that might attract public attention to prevent the situation from deteriorating again."

Aside from Starlight, everyone understood what he meant. Superheroes living a life of luxury and partying had long been the norm, but now the company no longer allowed them to do such things outside, lest they incur public resentment and be surrounded by angry crowds of citizens.

But while they understood, no one liked the feeling, and their faces showed displeasure.

Barrett then added, "This is Edgar's order."

Everyone stopped talking.

The Invisible Man remained transparent, his expression hidden from view. However, Deep Sea glanced at his phone every now and then, appearing somewhat distracted. He remembered what Ghost Face had told him last night and was still pondering how Ghost Face would fulfill his promise.

"Could it be related to what happened today?"

At that moment, Starlight suddenly stepped out from the crowd and looked at Barrett.

"So, are the things reported in the news true?"

Her brow furrowed with anger as she demanded, "Did Walter really do these things?"

(End of this chapter)