Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 587 The Veteran Who Did Not Die on the Battlefield
The moment he saw Countess Scarlet be killed, the soldier boy's eyes widened in fury—he instinctively raised his hand and punched the locomotive, his strength almost completely out of control due to his rage.

"Don't--!"

The locomotive cried out in surprise; if Mandegar hadn't given him instructions beforehand, he would have barely been able to react to the punch.

His reflexes are far beyond those of ordinary people, but if he is caught off guard, he is definitely not as fast as the soldier boy's raw speed.

Swah——

Having dodged the punch, the locomotive immediately ran back behind Edgar. He knew he couldn't fight the soldier boy head-on; he was just working for Edgar today, and there was no need for him to take the initiative to cause trouble.

"Benjamin, don't be impulsive."

Edgar stretched out a hand to block the soldier boy, his expression remaining calm, seemingly unafraid of one of the world's strongest superhumans who could crush him with a single finger: "He just did what you should have done three minutes ago."

"Edgar! I told you, she's mine!"

"Everyone in the Blood Debt Pays Off Squad is yours. Our deal was agreed upon long ago. I've done my part, and now I'm just asking you to do your part."

Edgar calmly replied, "I'll try my best to let you take them down yourself, but I can't keep letting you catch up with your old teammates and lovers indefinitely—we agreed beforehand not to bleed too much, not to waste too much time, and not to attract anyone's attention—but what did you do?"

"I don't need you to teach me how to do things."

Seeing that the soldier boy still hadn't rushed forward, Edgar finally loosened his grip on his back. This was the second coded message he had given to the locomotive beforehand, indicating that he should take him away from the scene immediately and escape to a safe place.

But since the soldier boy didn't immediately lose his temper and rush forward, it means that their cooperation can continue for the time being.

“I’m not going to teach you how to do things. You’ve already proven your discipline when you served in Vought.”

Edgar said coldly, "But we're dealing with you now, and there are three of us left. If you don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of people on your way to kill someone, asking why you're covered in blood in the street, or why you killed your old teammate, you'd better be quick and decisive."

The soldier boy didn't argue further—if it were Homelander now, and Edgar were to question him like that, he would definitely answer directly, "I'll burn all those bastards who are blocking my way to ashes with my heat vision"—as a toxic seed specially bred by Vought International, Homelander, having completely lost his idol image after his reputation collapsed, has become utterly unscrupulous.

In Edgar's view, if Homelander were to be fully restored with a dose of Compound V, there was a certain probability that he would massacre New York—and if it weren't for Superman, it was even possible that he could evade Soldier Boy and wipe out all of humanity.

"Compared to a madman like Homelander, even a villain like Soldier Boy seems mentally sound."

Just like now, if we leave this possibility to the soldier boy to answer, he would never answer with the answer of massacre, because he grew up as a normal person and served in the military for the United States. He has a sense of belonging, normal emotions, patriotism, and does not want to lose his current public image.

"An American hero. Who wouldn't want to be a hero of their own country? Serving one's country is, after all, an honorable thing."

Edgar looked at the soldier boy's still angry expression and couldn't help but sigh.

“Unfortunately, he’s the disobedient one.” At this moment, the soldier boy spoke again: “Edgar, you know very well that I’m not being sentimental, and I’m not a sissy who likes to fuss. I have no feelings for them anymore, and I can’t let them go—but I was interrogating them at the time, and you shouldn’t have rushed to interfere.”

"Interrogation? We've already decided to kill everyone in the squad, what's the point of wasting that time?"

Edgar laughed: "You said that everyone involved that day, regardless of who the mastermind was or who the accomplice was, shouldn't they all die?"

"."

The soldier boy frowned and didn't say anything more.

"Alright, things are all done here."

Edgar raised his hand to check his watch: "It's one o'clock in the afternoon. We still have the Twin Bombs and the Mind Storm to deal with. Let's speed things up. As long as you remember what to do after you see your old friend—grab his head and give it a gentle twist, and things will be over quickly."

"Is that so?" the soldier boy retorted. "Bomb Twins, my two old teammates are no pushovers. You think they'll just sit quietly and wait for you to kill them? You'd better think about how to cover up the massive explosions they create when they fight back."

The two talked as they left the RV and returned to Edgar's car. The locomotive got a towel for the soldier boy to wipe the blood off his body. Apart from that, none of the three left many traces in the room. The Vought Company's cleanup team would arrive at the scene within a minute and complete the reasonable evidence collection and judgment that "the killer is a terrorist from a mysterious organization".

"Wrong, actually, they can't use their abilities anymore."

The vehicle slowly started moving, and to the astonishment of the soldier boy, Edgar calmly explained to him that the brother and sister who were once heroes, dazzling on the battlefield and killing enemies without hesitation, had now completely changed.

"More than a decade has passed, and they've long since become pot-bellied, bloated, and brainless rich fools—did you know that they've actually started to dislike each other ever since they got rich? Do you know how long it's been since they used their superpowers?"

The soldier boy was stunned for a moment.

He was indeed going to kill someone, but the sight of his former comrades-in-arms transformed into the person Edgar described filled him with a sudden, inexplicable melancholy and unease.

The best end for a hero is to die in a just battle, the second best is to live out his days in peace.
He couldn't understand why those people, who were all veterans who had been through countless battles, had all become useless.

Less than fifty years have passed since that era, so why is there no trace of it left? Heroism, the American Dream, freedom and democracy have all vanished without a trace.

At that moment, he felt a deep sorrow, the desolation of a golden age passing by, and he was the last remnant of the old era.

Damn it, how did America become like this?

"Their superpowers can only be unleashed when their minds are in sync." He tried to control his emotions and said coldly, "If it's as you say, then they're just two useless people right now."

"They are two useless people."

(End of this chapter)