"Nervous?"
Backstage, Starlight, who had changed back into her original battle suit, watched Bronze finish his makeup and smiled with the familiarity of someone who had been there before.
"I still remember my first time. My palms wouldn't stop sweating."
Qi Li smiled faintly. "More nervous than stopping your first street crime?"
Starlight's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously. "Exactly! Just like that! God, even now, that red carpet still feels like it went on forever."
"That's completely normal," Qi Li recalled in an easy tone. "The first time I faced the cameras, I was so jittery I could barely string a sentence together. And mind you, I’d practiced dozens of times in private."
No matter how great a person became, looking back at the road they took always revealed plenty of embarrassing history.
Qi Li remembered that day vividly. It felt like being pulled right back into the classroom, unexpectedly called to the front by the teacher to recite a passage in front of the entire class.
Back then, he had felt completely detached from his body. Even though he knew every word in private, the moment he opened his mouth, he stumbled through broken fragments.
Time tempered everything.
Sitting here today, on the brink of an extraordinarily significant moment—arguably the most important event of his life so far, his Super Seven welcome gala—the fact that he could sit and laugh with Starlight was proof enough.
Having heard Qi Li's confession, Starlight said with keen interest, "Really? In that case, when I get back, I'm definitely digging up the footage of your very first interview to enjoy it."
Qi Li remained thoroughly unperturbed. "You'll be wasting your time."
Puzzled, Starlight asked, "Why?"
"I bought the exclusive rights to that first interview a long time ago," Qi Li explained casually. "Nobody gets to see it."
Back then, the more he thought about it after returning home, the more unbearable it became.
The very next morning, sword in one hand and cash in the other, he had stormed the TV station and politely bought out everything—from the master tape to the backups—into perpetuity.
So, nobody was ever going to see his dark history.
Not even Jesus himself.
He had spoken!
Starlight's eyes widened in bewilderment. She had never imagined someone could pull off a move like that.
While the two were laughing and chatting, a woman strode briskly over. Extending her hand toward Qi Li from several paces away, she introduced herself, "Pope Fletcher, Director of Talent Relations at Vought. Wonderful to meet you, Bronze."
Qi Li shook her hand, looking somewhat surprised. "If I remember correctly, wasn't the Director of Talent Relations Ashley?"
He glanced toward Starlight. He had run into Ashley once before during the Race of the Century.
Starlight turned her head away in slight embarrassment.
Because of her completely unscripted speech at the Believe Expo, Ashley—who had arranged her appearance at the event—had already been fired.
Pope, who had played the biggest role throughout that whole debacle to oust Ashley and claim the vacant seat for herself, offered a practiced smile:
"Ashley bravely chose a more diverse, innovative path for her personal development. Vought has offered its fullest support and praise for her decision."
With that, she checked her watch and spoke in rapid succession:
"Eight minutes remaining. Bronze, it's time to get into position. I'll accompany you and run through the key points for what's coming next on the way."
Qi Li nodded and rose from his chair.
"Good luck. See you out there," Starlight said, waving to him.
"See you soon," Qi Li replied, leaving with Pope.
Five-minute countdown.
Outside Vought Tower, the expansive plaza was packed with feverish fans waving banners, flags, and posters, their cheeks covered in Bronze stickers.
Young women accounted for seventy percent of the crowd.
The roar was deafening.
Three-minute countdown.
Broadcast and live-stream signals from major studios had all cut to the vibrant crimson runner.
Stretching along both sides of the red carpet to the far edges of the plaza, camera equipment of every size lit up with glowing red tally lights.
Reporters and anchors in sharp formal attire from Vought, CNN, FOX, NBC, CBS, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and countless other outlets had already raised their microphones, delivering their impassioned introductions to their respective cameras:
"In just three minutes, the youngest new member of the Super Seven, Bronze, will step onto this red carpet for the very first time to meet the world..."
One-minute countdown.
Across the plaza, the tens of thousands of scattered voices suddenly surged together like a rising tide, spontaneously bursting into the "Song of Bronze," which had gone wildly viral online in recent days:
"Bronze! Bronze! Unbreakable and bold!"
"Bronze! Bronze! Forged from flames of gold!"
Thirty-second countdown.
"When trouble calls, we know whose name to cry!"
Twenty seconds.
"Watching over all from the boundless sky!"
Ten seconds.
"When evil mounts its dread attack!"
Eight seconds.
"Have no fear, Bronze has got your back!"
Five seconds.
"When the world needs a hero true—"
Three.
"Bronze!"
Two.
"Bronze!!"
One.
"Take flight right now!!!"
Countdown zero!
*BOOM!*—
A deafening, sky-shattering sonic boom sliced straight down from above the clouds!
Everyone snapped their heads upward.
The thick cloud cover was torn violently apart as a brilliant, gleaming figure plummeted toward the earth like a falling meteor. With an earth-shattering crash, he slammed one knee hard into the ground, dropping into a steady superhero landing right at the foot of the red carpet.
The entire plaza went dead silent for a fraction of a second—and then exploded into wild, unbridled pandemonium.
"Oh my God!!"
"Bronze! Bronze is here!!"
"He looked at me! He's looking right this way!!"
Qi Li slowly rose from the cracked pavement beneath his boots. With effortless charm, he flashed a dazzling smile, raised his right hand, and waved to the crowd.
In that single instant, the chaotic screams and shrieks echoing across the entire plaza coalesced once again, chanting a single name in thunderous unison:
"Bronze! Bronze! Bronze...!"
At that moment, Qi Li felt as though he were the center of the universe.
Looking outward, uninhibited faces weeping with joy, faces that seemed willing to surrender everything for him, crowded into his vision.
He had long since grown accustomed to this, and he had even believed he could remain coolly detached through it all.
Yet right now, an uncontrollable rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins.
This was what it meant to be a superhero.
And he was that superhero!
Qi Li took a deep breath and officially stepped onto the red carpet.
*Snap! Flash! Snap! Flash!*
The blinding sea of camera flashes rolled over him like a rising white tide, wave after relentless wave, surging without pause.
Holding his right hand high with a warm, genuine smile on his face, Qi Li continued waving vigorously to the dense crowds of fans lining both sides of the carpet.
The minutes ticked by.
Starlight had once felt that the carpet stretched on endlessly, but Qi Li found it all too short.
So short that before he even realized it was ending, he had already reached the interview stage.
Vought's star host, Cameron Coleman, rushed forward enthusiastically with microphone in hand. In his most booming, vibrant tone, he announced to the crowd on-site and the viewers watching across the globe:
"Let's give the warmest welcome to the newest and youngest member of the Super Seven—superhero Bronze!!!"
In an instant, cheers erupted to shake the heavens.
Chapter 80